


The Lines Are Being Drawn

by Elanor_Niphedril



Series: The Lines Are Being Drawn [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-07-17
Updated: 2011-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-21 12:05:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 67
Words: 92,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elanor_Niphedril/pseuds/Elanor_Niphedril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwendolyn Martin has always been something of a loner, relying on herself and few others, but now with the times changing rapidly, she'll have to open up and actually try to not be a loner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 000

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first ever posting on this site! If I screw it up, bear with me, I literally created an account an hour or so ago. There is some minor violence, but nothing major and those moments are fleeting. And any and all sex is implied because the site I was on did not like the graphic depictions and truth be told, I'm not very good at writing those scenes anyway. So, enjoy this first chapter and if it all pans out I will be posting more today!

My name is Gwendolyn Martin. And in pretty much every sense of the word, I am an orphan. But we will reach that part later.

I am seventeen years old with gray eyes and... unusual hair. The main color of my hair is black. And I have blue and red streaks in my hair. And they're natural too, no lie. That's the unusual part for any of you who were wondering. I was born with them and I had no idea why they were there until about a year ago. But I'm getting ahead of myself again.

I am 5'9 and I am a witch in my seventh and last year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Which house am I in you may ask? Well, let me go off on a small tangent. I arrived at Hogwarts much like any first year. Nervous, young, naive and with stars in my eyes.

McGonagall got us in line and led us 'wickle firsties' as I heard one older student say as I walked by her. I stepped up to the stool when my name was called and I had the Sorting Hat placed on my head.

And it started to talk to me, as it did to most. I won't bore you with the details, but basically, that bloody rag could not make up its mind as to what House I should go. It could see I was a brave and strong person, or would become one at the very least, so should I be placed in Gryffindor? The Sorting Hat could also see that I had a brain and was smart, so should I be placed in Ravenclaw? But the Sorting Hat also said I had a quick mind and plenty of power and my blood, apparently, was as pure as it got, so should I be placed into Slytherin because it thought I would do really good there.

Well, I got really fed up with frickin' sitting there and I could tell all the teachers and students were wondering what was going on.

So, sitting there with my body language practically screaming annoyed; crossed arms, legs crossed and the dangling leg was jiggling there, you get it, I looked up at the brim and said, at a decent volume because apparently I was heard all the way at the back of the Great Hall:

"Will you make up your bloody mind about what House to put me in?"

And that got surprised looks out of the teachers I could see out of the corner of my eye and some of the students smiled and laughed quietly. To my knowledge, I am the only person in the one thousand plus year history of the school to talk back to the hat. And I mean _entire_.

But me speaking out seemed to help it make up its mind and it was into Slytherin I went.

And that was my tangent. In retrospect, it wasn't that small. Oops.

But no matter. I became a Slytherin, but I didn't actually like it. I knew I did not belong in the 'House of Evil' as I privately called it, but there wasn't much I could do about it and I didn't want to leave the one friend I'd made in my house behind.

Her name is Aideen, she's seventeen too, 5'11, blue eyes and a rich shade of red hair. Well, when she's not changing her eyes and hair. You see, Aideen is a Metamorphagus, only something like the 5th or 6th born this generation.

And she's a Pureblood too. And, unfortunately for her, her family were all Dark Wizards and every single one's been in Slytherin except for one or two black sheeps who weren't that powerful anyway, at least that's how her mother tells the story.

But she doesn't want to be in the House either. Aideen likes to make people laugh and she wants to work at St. Mungo's, in what job I don't quite know. But she told me that she wants to work there and make the people who are there feel better.

We both figured that asking for a House transfer, if it was at all possible, was stupid and not worth it at this point, that we might as well tough out one last year.

And now I come to explaining about how for all intents and purpose and in pretty much every sense of the word, that I am an orphan.

Going into Hogwarts my first year, I think now that I knew more really, really nasty curses than the rest of my year combined.

I hate my father's guts; he's dead to me. My mother really is dead.

When I was six years old, my mom died. Not just died, she was murdered.

Five guesses who the murderer was.

For the first six years of my life, I'll remember those years as hell on earth. My dad was a bully. He was physically, emotionally, mentally and verbally abusive to my mom and me. I got Stunned by my dad when I was only two and a half. And God only knows how long I was left like that.

And from there on out it got worse. And my mother didn't have the strength to stand up and protect me or herself, or so I thought.

The last straw for my mother came apparently one morning when my dad threatened to use two of the three Unforgivables on me, and actually tried to use the Imperius Curse on me. I dodged it and ran away and hid until he had left for work.

My mother ran around for hours making arrangements, packing up our stuff. I was sitting on my mom's bed when my dad showed up. He came home early for lunch or just came home early, it doesn't matter. But he came upstairs raging angry.

When he burst in the door, my mom tried to protect me, shielding me with her body. And he proceeded to curse the crap out of my mother.

Every curse he screamed is burned into my memory, never to leave. After he killed my mother, he turned his wand on me. And that is really all I can remember for awhile.

When I came to, I was in the living room of my aunt's house. From what I pieced together my father had run and he was captured, but not before he killed one of the Aurors who'd tracked him down.

And he was also consequently found guilty on all charges. Two counts murder and three counts use of an Unforgivable. For using the Killing Curse on my mother, attempting to use the Imperius on me, and using the Cruciatus Curse on the Auror until she died.

And I have been living with my aunt for the past eleven years.


	2. Chapter 001

_"Why bother to fight? You know your time is drawing to an end. You'll never have the strength to defeat me, you never have, you never will."_

 _"It doesn't matter whether or not I have the strength, and I know I'm going to die soon, but I know there are people who will carry on the fight after me and ensure that you will never be victorious in your evil."_

 _"Such an optimist. That always was your biggest weakness, you always believed that the people could do it, to find the power to rise up together."_

 _"That's because I know I am right, my belief in the other wizard's is the one infallible thing that has kept me going, one day they will realize that they do not have to always live in fear of that which scares them..."_

TAP. TAP.

I woke with a start. What the hell had woken me up?

TAP. TAP.

I followed the source of the sound to my window to find my owl outside it, tapping on the window with her beak.

"Oh." I said out loud, getting up off the bed and hurrying over to the window to let my owl in.

Belle, that was her name and she was black with bright amber eyes, soared into the room and set herself down on my bed. She had finally come back from Aideen's house, all the way out in the Salisbury Plains, near Stonehenge, while I lived outside a wee little city called Stratford-upon-Avon.

I untied the package from Belle's leg and she gave a hoot of thanks and flew to her cage in the corner of my room and took a beakful of water from her water bowl.

"And she gave me presents." I said to no one in particular, really. I unwrapped the brown paper covering it and saw that I had two presents: an album and a journal and a letter.

I reached for the letter and opened it, taking out the single piece of parchment folded over once.

 _Dear Gwen,  
Hey, happy birthday! You're finally of age, but still in school, that's the only sucky part. My parents are taking me to Diagon Alley next week so I can get my school supplies for next year, any chance your aunt will bring you that same time too? And my mum and dad are letting me spend the last two week of the hols at the Leaky Cauldron. Do you think your aunt would let you share a room with me?  
Write back soon, Aideen  
P.S. Enclosed in the package are your birthday presents, I hope you like 'em._

I set down the letter, making a mental note to ask my aunt later if any of what Aideen had said and asked was possible as she was not home right now. She was visiting a friend in St. Mungo's who works for the Experimental Charms Committee. She herself experimented with charms and is now in St. Mungo's as her head has turned into a pumpkin and all that comes out of her mouth are high pitched squeaks. God only knows what she was doing to get that to blow up in her face like that.

I turned my attention to the presents Aideen had sent me. I picked up the journal first, which was a nice black leather-bound deal. The leather itself was real nice and soft and emblazoned on the cover was a badger, a serpent, a lion and a raven. Kinda like the four Houses at school.

The lion and the raven were next to each other in the middle of the top of the cover and the badger and serpent were next to each other in the middle of the bottom of the cover. And in big letter's in the middle was 'Journal' in gold.

"Nice." I said softly, putting that on my bed. I picked up the album next and opened it. A large part of Aideen's summer had been taken up on a trip to the States and according to her owls she had gone to Ozzfest in the city she was spending time in. There were pictures of me and her taken in our dormitory and outside on the grounds when we'd had a free period and pictures of us in Hogsmeade when we were allowed to go there. Then there were pictures of some of the bands that had been playing at the Ozzfest show she went to. All in all, it was a pretty freaking sweet photo album.

"Again, very nice." I said quietly, Belle hooting in reply.

Then I lifted my head up because I could hear noises coming from the kitchen.

"Gwen?" My Aunt Joan called up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm still here." I said, getting off my bed and starting to walk down the stairs. "Aunt Joan, I have a question." I said as I appeared on the first floor landing, which overlooked the entrance hall.

"What is it?"

"Belle just got back from Aideen's and Aideen had a letter with her and in the letter she wrote that she and her parents are taking her to Diagon Alley next week to pick up school supplies and her parents are letting her stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the last two weeks of the summer hols. She wants to know if I can share a room with her. Can I? I don't know anyone back in the muggle world and there would be plenty of wizards to look after us."

After a moment of silence in which my aunt seemed to be contemplating the idea of letting me out of her sight for two weeks and deliberating with herself, she spoke.

"You may go, but I'll be coming back early to escort the two of you to King's Cross."

"Will you be able to get a Ministry car to take us to the station?"

"Probably. I'll see if I can."

"Great. Thanks Aunt Joan." I headed back up to my room and sat down my desk, an old rolltop and I loaded up a quill with scarlet ink and grabbed a fresh piece of parchment from a pile on the desk and I wrote back to Aideen saying everything was okay.

After I had sent Belle off, I sat down on my bed and made a mental list of what I would need to buy in Diagon Alley.

New robes for sure, because I'd had a pretty big growth spurt in the last two months and I'd shot up. My robes were at least six inches too short in the arm, the skirts had become like mini-skirts on me, and the vests came up to just under my breasts and I needed a new hat because I lost my other one.

I had just gotten my book list, so I needed to buy some spellbooks and I probably needed to stock up on quills and ink too.

I stood up and started walking around my room making a mental list of what I would need to pack as well.

The spellbooks I already had that I would need, my cauldron, my favorite quill, the photo album of me and my mother and the one Aideen had sent me, the journal was obviously coming, some muggle clothes, my mum's Invisibility Cloak.

"What are you doing?" My aunt asked all of a sudden, making me jump.

"Uh, making a list in my head of what I need to pack so I can make sure I don't forget anything." I said, sitting down on my bed and lifting the photo album into my lap.

A small frown creased my aunt's forehead. "Where'd you get that?" She asked, pointing to the album in my lap.

"Oh, this? I just got it. I got this photo album from Aideen and this gorgeous journal." I said, picking up the journal and handing it to my aunt.

"How odd, the lion and the raven are together and not with the badger and serpent. Does she have any idea?"

I looked at my aunt like she was a little loony, because she sounded a little loony.

"What does Aideen have an idea about?" I asked my aunt.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Don't mind me, sorry if I worried you. What was the other thing Aideen gave to you?"

"Oh, this." I said, handing my aunt the album and taking the journal from her.

"Fantastic! And these are really good photos, too. Aren't these all bands you like too?"

"Yeah, they are."

"Oh, um, by the way, there's someone downstairs in the front living room to see you."

"Me? Someone to see me? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Who is it?"

"Go downstairs and see for yourself." Aunt Joan said with a smile.


	3. Chapter 002

I left her in my room and walked down the three flights of stairs to the living room, half-expecting it to be empty and have it turn out my aunt was just being silly.

I rounded the corner to see Aideen. That made my mouth open a little in shock.

"Hey! I thought I would give you a little bit of a birthday surprise. So, you like the surprise?"

"I love it. This is definitely a cool surprise." I said, crossing the living room and giving Aideen a hug. "But I sent Belle off with my reply to your owl. She'll be a quarter of the way there by now."

"No she's not. See?" Aideen pointed to the trees outside in the front yard, which Belle was soaring over heading right for the house.

I ran to the front door and I opened it and Belle landed on my shoulder.

"Hey beautiful birdie. How are you?" Aideen cooed, stroking Belle's head. Belle gave out a mellow little hoot.

"So, what's the deal. Are you here for a short couple hour visit, a week, or something else?"

"I'm here for a week only, then the both of us are going to Diagon Alley! The letter I sent back with Belle was just a decoy to make the surprise that much larger."

I smiled. "That's great!"

"Gwen, I'm going to the Leaky Cauldron to arrange for your room. There is a fruit salad and some cold ham in the fridge. I don't know how long it's going to take so if it gets late and I'm not home, don't wait up for me."

"Alright, Aunt Joan." I said, kissing her on the cheek. She took a couple steps backward and with a loud pop, Disapparated.

"Okay. Well, let's lug your trunk up to my room shall we."

For the next few minutes me and Aideen don't speak as we lugged her trunk, which was really heavy, up the stairs.

"Why did you have to choose the highest room in the house?"

"I didn't think my best friend would bring everything in her room with her when she came to visit! Dammit, I want to use magic so bad right now. It's almost worth getting a letter from Mafalda Hopkirk to use a Levitation Charm and float this trunk up the rest of the way."

"I would do it anyway, but I can't. I already got one two summers ago for accidentally removing all the bones in my brother's arm."

"But, after this we can look forward to two adult free weeks."

"That's true."

Then me and Aideen stopped talking and resumed our carrying of the trunk up the stairs. When we reached my room, we just pushed the trunk with our feet into a corner.

"Wow, I like your room." Aideen said, doing a slow three-sixty and looking at everything.

"Thanks." I said as I sat down on her trunk. I had pictures of some bands from Muggle magazines that had come into my aunt's possession through work and I had pictures of the Weird Sisters, the biggest band in the Wizarding world at the moment, all over the walls and some on the ceiling too. "Hey, do you think, 'cause I'm of age now, that I can do magic though I am still at school?"

"No idea. Try something." Aideen said, sinking down on my bed.

"Pass me my wand, please." I said, pointing to my bedside table. Aideen turned and tossed it to me and I caught it by the handle.

"Let's see, what to Charm or blow up for that matter..." My eyes fell upon the journal, sitting on the bed next to Aideen.

 _"Accio Journal!"_

The journal gracefully soars through the air and lands in my lap.

"Very nice. Oh, I see you got my presents okay."

"Um, yeah, now that you mention it, one of the presents made my aunt act weird." I said.

"Which one?"

"The journal actually." I said holding the journal up a little.

"Really? What did she say?"

"Well, you see how the lion and the raven are together and the badger and the serpent are together? Well, my aunt said 'How odd, the lion and the raven are together and not with the badger and serpent. Does she have any idea?'"

"Yeah, that definitely is weird. But that journal was the only one left in the shop."

"I dunno what it means either, but it sounds like my aunt knows something she's not telling."

"I agree with you on that 100% that it does indeed sound like your aunt is keeping something from you, but I don't know what it is and I didn't mean to cause any of this weird stuff going on. I'd just thought you might like the journal."

"Yeah, let's just forget about it for now. Do you wanna go eat dinner?"

"Sure." Aideen and I left my room and headed downstairs.

"It could be something about my heritage." I said thoughtfully as I took the fruit salad out of the fridge.

"You never know, it could be anything." Aideen said, grabbing the ham and pumpkin juice.

"But I have been having this weird dream on and off for about two months now. In the dream there's Salazar Slytherin, Voldemort - suck it up, don't flinch- and they're talking to a person tied up in a chair. I figure out that it's me and I'm either inside that person or I am that person. Every time they alternate the names they call me. But it's always the same two names. Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw." I said to Aideen as I handed one plate of fruit salad to her and we sat down at the table.

"As in two of the founders of the school?"

"Who else? After I had the first dream, I took out my mother's invisibility cloak and snuck down to the library and stayed up all night reading _Hogwarts, A History_. Then when dawn came, I checked the book out and snuck back to the dormitory."

"Oh, that's why you refused to get out of bed that day."

"Yeah, that's why. Now, let's eat!"

"Damn straight." Aideen says, making me laugh just because it made no sense.

"The photos you took were really good." I said as I put a fork load of the fruit salad in my mouth.

"Fanks." Aideen said around a mouthful of ham before swallowing. "I took a lot of them when some travelling music festival stopped in the city I went to this summer and then I went to one more before I came back and took the rest of the pictures then."

"You know you could probably make a nice, neat little living for yourself as a photographer." I said. Her photographs were really that good.

"Maybe as a hobby. I do prefer making people laugh and feel better." Aideen says.

We finished dinner and cleared away the dishes a few minutes after this exchange. After dinner we sat in the front living room and Aideen fiddled with the wireless radio before finding a station to listen to as I curled up in my favorite chair right before the fire I'd started in the fireplace, obviously with my wand.

When the fire was going strong, I added one more log to it before the warming heat washed over me and I dozed off to sleep...


	4. Chapter 003

I was dreaming again. I was dreaming about my great-great-great-time a lot more great-grandparents. And this dream was extra-special weird because I was going back and forth between them every few minutes. I was in my bajillion times great-grandfather's body when Salazar said to me:

 _"You will die soon, it is inevitable. Why bother denying it? And when the time comes, it will be my hand."_

 _"Fuck you, you can take your wand and shove it up your ass!"_ That got Godric backhanded across the face.

Now I switched into Rowena's body.

 _"Slytherin stop it!! Stop taking your anger out on us just because we refuse to accept only pure-blood students."_

 _"If you had listened to him, it wouldn't have come to this." Voldemort says, walking into the picture._

 _"Why do you care Tom? You won't exist for another 1000 years. If Slytherin had his way, you wouldn't even be allowed to attend Hogwarts."_

 _"It's Voldemort, you dumb broad!! Voldemort!!"_

 _"Calm yourself Voldemort. Come, let us go to the chamber."_

 _"Yes, my lord."_

Salazar and Voldemort left my dream, but not before they stunned Godric and Rowena. I woke up screaming my head off for all I was worth.

"Gwen, what is it? What's the matter?" My Aunt Joan had come home by now and she had me by the shoulders, basically holding me up. Because, I guess what had happened was that I had fallen out of my chair and onto the floor in the throes of the dream.

Poor Aideen looked really, really freaked out.

"Gwen, what did you dream about?" Aunt Joan asked again, only this time it was a little gentler.

"I saw Voldemort in my dream. And three of the Hogwarts- Hogwarts founders."

"Can you tell me their names?"

I tried. Honestly, I tried my hardest to get their names out, but I just couldn't. I was too hysterical. I did manage to get this out: "Snake. Lion. Raven."

"Aideen could you go get some chocolate from the ice box in the kitchen please?"

Though it sounded wicked far off, I heard Aideen say, "Yeah, sure."

When my aunt knew we were alone, my aunt turned to me and asked: "Did you see Salazar, Godric and Rowena in your dream?"

"Yes." I sobbed out.

"Have you had these dreams before?"

I just nodded my head yes, words being beyond me right now.

"For how long? How long have you been having these dreams?"

"Two months. This is the first time both of them have been together."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I thought they were after effects and they would just- just go away."

My aunt started to say something to me, but just then Aideen came back in the room with the chocolate and a glass of water.

"Come on Gwen, eat some chocolate." Aideen slipped a piece of chocolate in my mouth and I started sucking on it, feeling an almost instant warmth spread everywhere.

"I'm sorry for freaking out and scaring everyone." I said when I had eaten another two pieces of chocolate.

"I'll be fine. All that really matters is that you're alright." Aideen said.

When I had consumed enough chocolate to satisfy my aunt, she told us the plan.

"Tom said that if you two could be there tomorrow he can give you a room with two beds with an attached bath for the price of if the two of you had stayed there for two weeks, instead of three. Because by next week he says he'll have no open rooms left and the cut in price has been offered just incase the two of you had any plans or whatever for this week. So, what do you girls say?"

"I'm okay with it. What about you, Aideen?"

"Yeah, that's no problem."

"OK, now to bed. You can finish your packing in the morning."

"Where am I gonna be sleeping?" Aideen asked as we climbed the stairs.

"Providing you're not a blanket or bed space hogger, you can share with me. My bed is definitely big enough for the both of us." I replied.

"God, Gwen, I swear. I really thought you were having a fit or something when you slid out of the chair and started convulsing on the ground." Aideen said as she and I got out of our clothes and into pajamas.

"Sorry again for that." I said as we climbed into my big ass bed.

~FAST FORWARD TO MORNING~ Aideen, Aunt Joan and myself were running around the house doing last minute packing. We'd find this shirt here, that robe there, this pair of shoes here, so on and so forth.

I was a bit pre-occupied with another dream I'd had last night. It was a good dream, no need to worry.

In the dream a boy was giving me a ride on his broomstick this secluded little courtyard that had rose bushes and a little pond in it. Waiting for us was romantic candlelit picnic for two. After we had eaten, we fooled around a little bit.

I splashed him with a little bit of water from the pond and he dunked me in and then I got my revenge by dunking him. We dried off using our wands and then we started kissing and rolling around in the grass.

I could still feel the boy's gorgeous, smooth hair in my fingers when I woke up the next morning.

"Okay. Now, have you girls packed everything you need? Good. _Locomotor Trunks_!

Aunt Joan walked down the stairs with the trunks levitating behind her and into the living room.

"Do you girls want to travel by Floo Powder or the Knight Bus?"

"Knight Bus." Aideen and I said at the same time.

"Of course, how could I forget." My aunt was cryptically referring to the fact that Aideen got sick when she traveled by Floo Powder and I just hated traveling by it period.

Aunt Joan floated the trunks outside into the front yard and because our house was so far back from the road it was okay to signal (for lack of a better term) the Knight Bus in broad daylight.

Aideen and I, having heard the stories about one bus driver, stood on the front stoop of my house while Aunt Joan stuck out her wand hand and nearly got it clipped off by the arriving bus.

As the conductor bounded off the bus, Aideen and I just looked at each other.

"Oh crap." I said under my breath, so Aunt Joan and Stan couldn't hear me, but Aideen still heard me.


	5. Chapter 004

And who should bound off the bus but Stan Shunpike?

"Is that who I think that is?" Aideen muttered to me.

"Yes. Which means we're in for a bumpy ride."

My aunt paid the fee and Stan helped me and Aideen lug our trunks and Belle's cage onto the bus.

I quickly grabbed a club chair at the back of the bus, next to the staircase.

"Excuse me, do you have a copy of the _Daily Prophet_?" I asked Stan.

"'Ere it is. Jus' don' crumple it or anyfink please."

"Thanks." I said, taking the newspaper from Stan.

"So, where do you wish to go? Long as it's on land. The Knight Bus can't do nuffink underwater."

"London." Aideen said.

Stan walked to the front of the bus and told Ernie. The next thing I know, I've been sucked into the back of my chair. The bus settles to an apparently steady pace. I unfolded the paper and I let out a small shriek which I quickly smothered.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Aideen asked.

I wordlessly passed her the paper. Her face grew pale as she read the paper.

"Oh my- fuck!" She yelled as we both got thrown from our chairs.

"Ouch." I said, rubbing my jaw as I climbed back into my chair as a wizard with a green-tinged face came tottering down the stairs and practically ran off the bus.

Aideen started to re-read the paper and then passed it back to me and this time I actually read the article.

"This is so not what I need right now." I groaned, my head falling back onto the chair.

"How could your father have escaped from Azkaban? It's next to impossible to escape from it."

"Think about it. Who guards it?"

"Dementors do. But they drive most of the prisoners mad, so the prisoners are in no state to bribe them or whatever."

"Come on, Dee. Think. Really think. There's a single conclusion. The Dementors have gone over to Voldemort's - suck it up and stop flinching- side and joined him."

Suddenly Ernie braked so hard I fell out of my chair and rolled down the aisle end over end and crashed into Stan's legs. Aideen was still in the back, having gotten lucky and managing to grab onto a candleholder.

"What's wrong?" I asked as Stan helped me stand up. Ernie was staring out the window and so was Stan.

"There's a gent standing in the middle of the road." Ernie said.

"Let me see." I said. Stan moved out of the way and my jaw dropped to the floor.

My dad was standing in the middle of the road and he had company.

"He's got 3, no 5, no 7 dementors with him! Shit! Can either of you do the Patronus Charm?"

Stan and Ernie shook their heads.

"Stay on the bus and yell if any of them out there starts moving." I said, turning around and running back up the bus.

"Why did we stop?"

"My former father is standing out there and he's got seven fucking dementors with him. You can do a Patronus Charm, right?"

Aideen nodded. "When the occasion calls for it."

"Trust me, the occasion calls for it. Come on, let's go see how many other people there are on this bus."

The both of us went through the door and we ran up these stairs. Aideen and I came to a door and the stairs kept on going.

"You take the third floor, I'll take this one." Aideen says.

I nodded my agreement and I ran up the last set of stairs as Aideen opened the door. I opened the door to the third floor and burst in. I found six wizards and four witches looking quite surprised.

"Why have we stopped?" A tall black wizard with no hair and a pierced ear asked.

"There's a man standing in the road with seven dementors. Can any body here perform a Patronus Charm?"

4 of the wizards and 2 of the witches said yes.

"OK. Please come with me." I headed back downstairs and they all followed me as I headed for the first floor of the bus.

Aideen was waiting for me with two wizards. "These were the only two on the second floor who can do the charm."

"Alright. I need names. Who are you?" I asked, pointing to the wizard who had spoken to me on the third floor.

"I am Kingsley Shacklebolt, this is Sturgis Podmore, Mad-Eye Moody, and Harry Potter. The two witches are Emmeline Vance and Nymphadora Tonks; who prefers to go by her last name."

"So would you if your mum had named you Nymphadora." Tonks muttered sullenly.

"Hi. I'm Gwen. And who are you two?"

"My name is Dedalus Diggle and this is Arthur Weasley."

"Hello. Kingsley, you look familiar. Were you at Thomas Martin's trial 11 years ago for the murder of his wife and an Auror?"

"Yes. He murdered my sister. How do you know that?"

"My mum was his wife. The same piece of pond scum is standing in the middle of the road. I request he be left to me. Mr. Podmore can you, Mad-Eye, and Dedalus go upstairs to protect the people who can't do the Patronus? Aideen, I want you to go with them-"

"I can do the-"

"And you still have the Trace and you don't turn seventeen until February. Please, just go with them. I do not want you expelled from Hogwarts. How-"

"You're still at Hogwarts? How old are you anyway?" Harry interrupted.

"I'm seventeen and-"

"Uh, miss, strange things are happening out there." Stan said uncertainly.

"Crap. Ernie, Stan, go with Mad-Eye and all them and you four get whoever is on this bus to the third floor and no one come down until one of us comes to get you. Got it? Good. Let's go." The group separated and myself, Kingsley, Harry, Emmeline, Mr.Weasley, and Tonks depart from the bus and form a straight line in front of the bus.

Stan was right. Strange things were happening. There was a stiff breeze and mist was coming in on either side of the country lane we'd stopped on. And the sky was quickly becoming overcast, like a downpour wanted to come down.

Then the dementors started to move forward. I snuck a look at Harry out the corner of my eye and saw he was looking as bad as I felt.

"Wands at the ready! Patronus Charm on three! One. Two. Three! _Expecto Patronum_!" I roared those two words. My patronus burst from the tip of my wand and went to the aid of Harry's. In no time, the dementor's were gone the weather was returning to normal and the Patronus' all headed back to their 'owners.'

"What is that?" Harry asked, pointing to my Patronus.

"The name means 'man-eater' in Persian. Everyone back on the bus. It's time to deal with a thorn in my side."

"I'm staying." Kingsley stated in a most stubborn tone of voice.

"So are we all." Tonks said.

I looked at all of their faces and knew they were not moving from those spots and I just caved.

"Fine." I snapped. "Just stay out of this." All of the Patronus's dissipated and I walked towards my 'daddy'. Mucho mucho sarcasm meant there people, just so ya know.

"Hello, Thomas. How's Azkaban treating you?"


	6. Chapter 005

I looked at him. Really looked closely. His eyes were different. That was when it hit me, he was under the Imperius Curse. Thomas grinned this sick little smile and said:

"Is that anyway to talk to your father?"

"You aren't my father. You stopped being my father the day you cursed mom to death in front of me when I was six years old. Anyway, how's the Imperius Curse treating you?"

"No one has put a curse on me, I am acting of my own free will."

I let out a snort of disgust. "Yeah, right. Who put you under the curse, Voldemort? Is that sonofabitch trying to kill me again? Because it isn't going to work, he won't succeed. Now, do you have a wand?"

"Of course. And the Dark Lord will kill you no matter whom you are descended from."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Your dear mother never told you? You are descended from Salazar Slytherin. You've met him in your dreams."

"If you've been having that a-hole employing Legilimency against me, try explaining something for me. How come in my dreams I'm always Godric or Rowena? Have Lord Dipshit explain that."

My 'father' finally cracked (not that he wasn't already). " _Crucio_!"

I jumped aside and heard a shower of sparks as the curse made contact with something solid. " _Expelliarmus_!" I screamed.

His wand flew out of his hand into my hand. "Someone summon these wands to them. What I'm about to do doesn't require a wand."

I heard someone go " _Accio Wands_." and then my wand wasn't in my hand anymore. I took my jacket off and chucked it to the floor.

"You are about to learn pain, Thomas." I yelled and ran at Thomas and he ran at me. I stuck my arm straight out (I saw this on a Muggle wrestling show once) and ran faster. My arm crashed into his throat and he fell, hard. I skidded to a stop and turned around. Thomas was on his knees massaging his throat.

"Up." I said. Thomas got up and he looked pissed. Good. The angrier they are, the harder they fall.

"This is for mom." I ran at him and jumped, kicking him twice and his nose is now really, really bloody and really, really broken.

Foolishly I let him get himself together and I didn't notice while I let him do it that he moved closer to me. I noticed too late, right as he rammed into me like a linebacker and the both of us slid a few inches and he flew over me. We stood up at the same time.

I punched him in the mouth. "This- Is-" I kneed him in the crotch. "For-" I punched him twice in the face (one eye each). "Me!" I sunk my fist as hard and far as I can into his stomach.

And he fell harder then a mountain troll that had a dungbomb blow up in its face. I started to drag him backward by the feet when his hand suddenly whipped into his pocket and pulled out wand.

"Oh sh-" And that's as far as I got. I never got to finish that sentence because I fell to the ground, feeling pain more intense then anything in my life. It was like every menstrual cramp and every birth that ever happened in the history of humanity came back to bite me in the ass times ten. And I have no idea how long it went on for, but it just stopped all of a sudden.

Tonks came running forward and helped me stand up and let me lean on her.

"What happened?"

"Well let's see, dear old coward over there took five Stunners to the chest and will be out until one of us decides to wake him up which might be never." Tonks says it so lightly I can't help but laugh a little. I looked over and saw Kingsley and I saw that he had Thomas tied up.

"Kingsley, don't bother being gentle." He looked up and nodded and dragged the former father invisibly along. Hermione came off the bus and helped me into a chair.

"Are you alright? We all saw what happened. How long have you been able to do the Patronus Charm?"

"I've been able to do it since my fifth year. The same year we had those damn dementors. Me and Aideen had to take the gates at a run everytime we wanted to go to Hogsmeade." Aideen came tearing down the staircase. Literally the girl ran down it so hard that I felt the bus shaking. She was followed by Sturgis and Mad-Eye (who both had a blooming black eye a piece) and they were followed by Dedalus who had Stan and Ernie with him.

"Remind me to never make you angry." Stan says.

"That was eleven years worth of rage finally expressed. Normally it takes a lot more to make me really pissed off."

"Are you okay? When I saw that- that- thing use the Cruciatus Curse on you I tried to get away to go help you or at least see if you were going to be okay but a certain two wizards attempted to stop me." Aideen pauses to give Sturgis and Mad-Eye very dirty looks.

"Here's your wand." Emmeline said, handing my wand back to me. As I've probably neglected to mention, my wand is 11 and a quarter inches long, made out of oak with a dragon heartstring core.

"Thank you."

"Gwen, I have a question. Well, actually, a couple." Harry said.

"Shoot."

"What exactly did your father do ("Harry!" Hermione exclaimed) to make you hate him so much?"

"My former father was abusive. Physically, verbally, emotionally, mentally, magically. He made my life and my mother's life a living hell. My mom decided to leave him when I was six. He came home early from work that day. I remember him raging downstairs and my mom trying to shield the both of us from that man. He used all sorts of curses. It was so horrible, every single curse he used is engraved on my memory. Then he used The Cruciatus Curse and finally Avada Kedavra. After my mom was dead, he turned his wand on me. The last thing I remember for awhile is this golden glow and a lady in a blue and bronze dress holding me while this tall man with a sword with rubies in the hilt (Harry's eyes went wide with surprise) protected me. And then I guess I passed out or something. I only remembered all this when Voldemort tried to kill me two months ago. Because the thing with the man and the lady happened again. I found their pictures in _Hogwarts, A History_ and I found out that they were Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Voldemort's been in hiding since his return to a physical body, how is it that he tried to kill you, obviously failed and it didn't make the press?" Moody asked, his good eye narrowed with suspicion.


	7. Chapter 006

"He managed to get into my dreams and he tried to kill me in my dreams. If he had done that it would have probably looked like I died sudden-like in my sleep."

"Wow." Harry says, looking impressed. "And what is with your hair?"

I fingered a streak of red. "I dunno. Your guess is as good as mine. The colors have been with me since birth. After what happened last year I thought they were connected somehow to Godric and Rowena. I've never really thought about it."

"And finally, what dreams are you talking about?"

"Every night for about two months now I've been having this dream. In this dream I'm either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw and I'm always tied to a chair and Slytherin is always talking to me. Except for yesterday, the dream was different."

"You can say that again." Aideen said.

"What was so different?" Tonks asked.

"Both Godric and Rowena were in the dream. Salazar was there too. And it seemed every few minutes, there was no specific pattern, I would switch bodies. Then Voldemort came into my dream. And it was as if Slytherin knew him."

"That's disturbing." Tonks says.

"What did You-Know-Who and Slytherin say?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Slytherin said something like 'You'll die eventually and when you do it'll be by my hand. And Godric told him 'Fuck you, you can take your wand and shove it up your ass!' and that was when Slytherin backhanded him across the face. And Rowena started screaming at him when Voldemort came into the picture. Rowena seemed to know what his real name was and that sent him off the deep end. Voldemort and Slytherin left to go the Chamber, but not before they stunned both Godric and Rowena. And then I woke up."

"That was some modern sounding language used there." Emmeline says.

"Uh, yeah, that would be my big mouth because when Godric said that I was 'inside' him for lack of a better word."

"What is truly weird is that you're still having these dreams two months later. Dumbledore will have to be informed of the situation." Moody says.

I opened my mouth to object but at that moment Stan Shunpike walked up and interrupted.

"Excuse. Miss, whereabouts in London?"

"The Leaky Cauldron." I said.

"All righty then."

When the bus gave an almighty jump I went flying out of my chair and into Mad-Eye's lap.

"Sorry." I said. And then I got out of his lap as fast as I could. Soon after that fun (not) escapade, the bus arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Maybe we'll see you guys in Diagon Alley next week?" Aideen says as we stood up and got our luggage.

"Maybe." Hermione says. I dragged my trunk off the bus and I somehow managed to drag it inside. I went to help Aideen get her trunk and I hear a high voice scream:

"Thank goodness you're alright!"

I turned around to see Aunt Joan running toward me. She reached me and pulled me into a hug so fierce, the air practically got knocked out of my lungs.

"I'm fine Aunt Joan, you can stop choking me now."

Instead she just hugged me even tighter.

"I thought I had lost you."

"How did you find out?"

"I got an owl from Arthur Weasley saying there had been some trouble on the bus. You want to talk about it? You don't look too good."

"I had an Unforgivable used on me. So I'm obviously not feeling too brilliant. It was Thomas-"

"Did ya get to the part about the buttload of dementors with him?" Aideen says.

"What?"

"There were seven, we got rid of them."

"Well, that bit about the dementors was new, but Mr. Weasley told me in his owl that you saved a busload of people. You took charge immediately from what I read."

"I had help. From Mr. Weasley, Harry, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Emmeline Vance. I had Mad-Eye Mood, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore and Aideen stay on the bus to protect the people who couldn't perform a Patronus Charm. Actually, I had to force Aideen to stay on the bus."

"Yep, she did." Aideen said as we all took seats at a small table.

"Mr. Weasley said that your Patronus looked like a Manticore."

"Harry asked me what it was and I said that the name meant 'man-eater' in Persian. I think the others picked up that it was a Manticore."

"I see. Do you care to share the details of the fight now?"

"After the dementors were gone I told everyone to get back on the bus. Kingsley refused as I knew he would, but the others refused too. Right off the bat Thomas tried using the Cruciatus Curse on me, but I dodged it. I used the Disarming Spell on him and got his wand away from him. I had someone summon the wands to them, because what I did I didn't need a wand for. I used a wrestling move on Thomas, knocked him to the ground. I double kicked him in the nose before he managed to knock yours truly over. I punched him four times and kneed him in the balls. I thought he was out cold and I started to drag him backward. He wasn't. He brought out a wand hidden on his person and used the Cruciatus Curse on me. I remember the pain clearly... and then all of a sudden it stopped. Tonks helped me up and I asked her what happened and she told me about how Thomas had taken five Stunners to the chest."

"Yes, Arthur Weasley mentioned that in his owl."

"And I gave Mad-Eye and Sturgis black eyes!" Aideen says with obvious glee.

"Sturgis Podmore I can believe, but Mad-Eye Moody? You gave Mad-Eye a black eye?" Aunt Joan asked in disbelief.

"They were threatening to stun me before I popped them one apiece and ran down the stairs." Aideen said with pride.

"Wow, there really is nothing else to say but wow." Aunt Joan says, shaking her head. "Well then, let's get your trunks up to your room."

Tom came over and he helped us get our trunks up to the room Aideen and I would be staying in. I set Belle's cage on top of the dresser and I opened the window and then opened her cage so she could fly around for a bit.

"I hope you ladies will be comfortable. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Tom." I yelled at Tom's retreating back.

"Do you girls want to have some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's cafe?" Aunt Joan asked.

"Thanks, but I'm gonna skip. If you and Aideen wanna go talk and bond or whatever, that's cool. I just really need a nap right now."

"You're sure?" Aideen said.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

My aunt and Aideen walked out of the room and I just layed myself down on the bed. I didn't even bother with the covers, I just went right to bed.


	8. Chapter 007

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7, 007, oh the James Bond irony is not lost here. But, if you have made it this far, thank you for your patience, it is about to be rewarded. :)

~90 Minutes Later~  
I woke up feeling nicely refreshed. A dreamless sleep can work wonders for your body.

I decided I felt like a bath and went into the bathroom and ran the hot water in the huge old-fashioned clawfoot tub. In the bathroom I discovered a shelf that all these different scented bath oils on it. I chose the bottle of lavender and the bottle of chamomile and proceeded to pour a generous amount from each under the running water.

When the bath water was high enough for me I turned off the tap, took off my clothes and stepped in. The warm water felt sooooooo good, worked an almost instant wonder on my tense and weary muscles. And I just sat there, soaking with my hair pulled back and high up so it would stay dry. After awhile I pulled out the pins in my hair and dunked myself. I grabbed a bottle of lavender shampoo and poured some onto my palm before I lathered up my hair. I dunked myself twice more to rinse all the soap outta my hair and got out and pulled the plug. I wrapped a towel around my body and walked back into the room to pick some clean clothes.

I put on a pair of jeans and a plain black tank top. And I had just gotten the top on when there was an urgent knock at the door. I strode over to the door and opened it. And there's a vaguely familiar, tall, gangly (and cute) redhead at the door. He barged in, shut the door and locked it.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Hiding from my mother. I'm not supposed to be in Diagon Alley. Because me and my brother can App-" He stops speaking and I heard it. The sound of pissed off footsteps heading right for my room.

"Hide me!" The redhead begs.

I started whipping around looking for a place to hide him.

"Quick! In the bathroom!" I shoved him towards the door and shut it just as someone knocked on my door.

"Just a minute." I called out. I took a few calming breaths and opened the door. A short, plump and very pissed off looking witch with red hair was at my door.

"Can I help you Miss-?"

"Weasley. My name is Mrs. Weasley."

"You don't happen to know an Arthur Weasley by any chance?"

"Yes, he's my husband. How do you know him?"

"I met him on the Knight Bus. He's a rather nice man, but I digress. Is there anything I can help you out with?"

"I'm looking for my son Fred. I saw him run up this corridor. Have you seen him at all?"

"Uh, no I haven't. I just got out of the bath. I did hear a loud crack. Maybe he Disapparated or something?"

"It's possible. If you see him, tell him he's in deep trouble."

"I will Mrs. Weasley. Good-bye." I shut the door and let out a pent-up breath.

"You can come out now Fred."

"Thanks." He says, walking out.

"What did you do?"

"I'm staying somewhere in Muggle London. Me and my brother are trying to set up a joke shop and thought we would come looking for premises. Unfortunately my mother caught us. She got my brother, George, but I got away."

"Oh. That all? You look familiar. Are you in seventh year?"

"Yeah, are you?"

"Yeah, what house?"

"Gryffindor, what about you? I've seen you around school."

"I'm in Slytherin unfortunately. I'd rather be in any house but Slytherin."

"Why haven't you tried for a house transfer or something?"

"The only reason I haven't tried to transfer is my friend Aideen. Actually, she's pretty much my only friend."

"Why Slytherin? You don't look like you'd be one of those slimy rats."

"No, not really. But the hat had to put me somewhere, didn't it?"

"Wait a minute. Hold on a second, aren't you the girl that talked back to the hat during the Sorting in our first year?"

"Yeah, that would be me."

"I do believe you still hold the record for longest perching on that stool."

"I probably do. I was thinking of trying to get Aideen to transfer with me. D'you think McGonagall would let us in?"

"I dunno. We're coming here next week or the week after to get school stuff. Are you gonna be here?"

"Yeah, me and Aideen are here for the rest of the summer break."

"Excellent. Well, I'd better go. See ya."

"Bye." With a loud crack Fred disappeared. Right after Fred left someone Apparated into my room and landed right on top of me, sending the both of us to the floor.

"OW!" I yelled. Whoever landed on me got up and helped me up.

"Are you okay? I am really sorry."

I got a good look at the guy's face and it was all I could do to keep my jaw from going slack. This guy looked just like Fred, only more attractive.

"Uh, uh, yeah, I'm okay now. It's just my neck."

"Lemmee see." The redhead moved my wet hair out of the way and probed my neck. I winced as he hit a sore spot.

"Is there a bathroom in here?"

"Yeah, through there." I gestured in the direction of the bathroom.

"Come here." He took my hand and lead me into the bathroom. He grabbed a washcloth, soaked it in hot water and wrung it out some before he folded it to fit my neck.

"So, what's your name?" I asked.

"The name is George Weasley. You've met my mother, father, and twin. A lot of my family, just not all. I have a younger brother and sister and two older brothers. What's your name?"

"Gwen Martin and you have a large family. I only have my aunt. My mum's dead, my- my- him is as good as."

"That sucks. Come here, I'm not too sure how well this will work." George gently pressed down on the wet wash cloth, like he was trying to massage the heat in or something.

"This would be so embarrassing if my aunt and Aideen were to walk in right now. They probably wouldn't believe me if I told them you landed on me. You know, I think Aideen fancies Harry."

"Really? Maybe we should hook them up. Do you fancy anyone?"

The question caught me quite off guard. Because, you know, I couldn't just come right out and say that I fancied him. I'd known him for about ten- fifteen minutes. If you say you fancy someone after you've only known them for that short amount of time, it can get kinda dicey.

"Maybe. Only problem is I've just met him and we don't know each other all that well yet."

"My, my. That is a problem. Anyone I know?"

"It's possible. I could let you know when we meet up in Diagon Alley."

At this point our little flirting session was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley Apparating right next to me. I screamed and jumped into George's arms.

"George Weasley!! I expected to find you at home and what do I find? Nothing!"

"Mum, I came looking for Fred. I accidentally Apparated on top of my new friend and hurt her neck."

And just like that, Mrs. Weasley's anger disappeared.

"Oh, you poor thing. I hope George didn't hurt you too badly."


	9. Chapter 008

And to add to the mix, my aunt and Aideen walked into the room.

I looked up at the ceiling really quick. _As if this couldn't get anymore awkward._ "Hi, Aunt Joan. This is Mrs. Weasley and her son George. He landed on me."

"I said I was sorry!" George exclaimed, looking exasperated. And Aideen started looking at me a little funny.

"Gwen, I need your help with something in the bathroom." She grabbed my arm and propelled me into the bathroom and shut the door. Lady meant business.

"Do you fancy George?" Are the first four words out of her mouth when we're alone.

To buy myself I grabbed my wand off the side and pointed it at the tub. " _Scourgify_." And the soap suds left behind disappeared, just like magic.

"Answer me. I know you better then most people. Did you tell him?"

"Not in so many words. I just met the guy, so it's not like I can come right out and say it, because that just screams 'I'm a psycho!'. Besides, do you fancy Harry still?"

Her silence and shiftiness gave me my answer.

"I could talk to George and he to Harry."

"Don't bother. He fancies Cho Chang, you know, Ravenclaw's Seeker."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't bother apologizing. I'll get over it. There's a guy out there for me somewhere. Now, you are going to go out there and rescue George and go out for ice cream."

"Yes mother." I said, saluting her.

I left the bathroom and rummaged around in my trunk for my leather jacket and money bag. I shoved the money bag in the pocket and moved over to George.

"Me and George were actually just about to go out for ice cream. Is that okay Mrs. Weasley?"

"Of course it is. Just don't be too late dear."

"OK, we won't. Aunt Joan, it's alright if I go out isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Fantastic. Come on George." I linked my arm with his and we walked out of the room and down the hall.

"Admit it, I just saved your butt."

"Yeah, you did. At least it was by a pretty girl."

"Thanks for the compliment. Now, if you want to delay the going back to your mother and probably getting reamed a new one by your mom, I need to get new robes. I had a growth spurt so they're too short on me. I could model so you can tell me if I look good or not."

"Yes! There is a god up there!"

"Oh shut up. Now, do you want to go get the robes first and then ice cream or vice versa?"

"Robes and ice cream."

"Let's go then." George and I walked out of the Leaky Cauldron and into the back where we had to tap the bricks and all that.

"To Madam Malkin's we go." I said in a sing song voice doing a funky little dance. George just looked at me and shook his head.

We walked up the street, managing to miss most of the potholes in the street. And then little klutzy ol' me managed to find one and trip on it and fall. George grabbed my arm as I was falling and I ended up swinging an inch or so above the ground, not smacking into it.

"You okay?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine. I am totally okay. The concern is appreciated though. Here's the shop." George and I walked in to find no one in the front.

"Hello, anyone here? Madam Malkin?" George called out.

A short, fat witch came running out from behind the curtain.

"My goodness, I didn't hear you come in, I'm sorry. What can I do for you dears?"

"I need new school robes and a hat." I said.

"Well then, come back here and we'll get you measured up." I followed Madam Malkin and George followed me.

"Stand on the stool and put this on." Madam Malkin handed me an overly large robe to try on.

"What year are you two starting?" Madam Malkin asked as she got a bunch of pins and started pinning the robe.

"Seventh." George says.

"All seven years finally coming to an end. How do you feel?"

"Happy." I said.

"What do you two want to do?"

"Joke shop." George says.

"Auror." Was my reply.

"That's going to be difficult. Isn't it another three years of training if you pass?"

"It will most definitely be worth it." George gave me a questioning look as Madam Malkin started pinning my sleeves back. "Ask your dad. He knows what I mean."

"Here dear, see how that works." I jumped off the stool and I gave a twirl.

"Perfect fit." Madam Malkin said. She went into another back room and came out a couple minutes later with some bundles. "Here you go robes, school vests, ties, and skirts."

I paid her and we left the shop.

"Now. Which way to Florean Fortescue's?"

"You forgot?!" George says, laughing.

I lightly slapped his arm. "Oh hush or I'll make you carry me and my packages."

"Okay." And George just picked me up bridal style and started walking down the street.

"George Weasley put me down dammit!"

George just ignored me and walked into the open area outside of Fortescue's cafe and he gently set me on my feet at a two person table in the corner.

"What flavor do you want?" He asked.

"Raspberry with chocolate and fudge topping pur-lease."

"OK, weirdo." George says. He comes back with our ice cream a few minutes later and we ate in silence for a time.

"So." George says.

"So what?"

"Why do you want to be an Auror?"

"Because I want to make sure what happened to me when I was a child doesn't happen to anyone else."

"What happened?"

"I don't know if you ever heard about this, but eleven years ago Thomas Martin was sent to Azkaban for life for the murder of his wife and a female Auror."

"It rings a bell. My dad might have mentioned it."

"That man is the reason I have major issues getting close to guys. In fact I have problems getting close to anyone. You and Fred are the first guys I've willingly talked to."

"What connection do you have to Thomas Martin?"

"You know how I said I only had my aunt?" George nodded. "And that my mom was dead, my dad as good as dead?" George nodded again. "That's because Thomas murdered Kingsley Shacklebolt's sister and my mom."

It dawned on George exactly what I was saying. "You mean he's your..."


	10. Chapter 009

I slowly nodded my head. "Yeah. Unfortunately."

"Holy shit." George said leaning back in his chair and raking a hand through his hair. "Ho-lee shit."

"Yeah."

"That has got to suck."

"Now you know why I keep to myself at Hogwarts."

"Uh huh. Well, no worries there. Knowing me and my brother, you'll be fine at Hogwarts."

"Really now?" I said, digging the spoon into the ice cream and getting myself some.

"Yup, you will be fine."

"So the fact that I have a convicted murderer for a father and the fact that I'm in the House that's been the sworn enemy of yours since the school's inception most likely, doesn't bother you?"

"No. Because those things aren't you. They're just easily remediable situations. Well, the convicted murderer for a dad part isn't so remediable, but you know what I'm trying to say."

I couldn't think of anything to say, I was just so happy that someone wasn't judging me based on the fact that my dad is a psycho. And I just smiled a wide smile at George.

"Something tells me that you don't tell people that little tidbit of information, because you're scared or whatever because you don't want it reflected upon you, for people to think of you."

"That is quite insightful and quite right." I said.

"I'm just good like that. Come on, we'd better get you back to the Leaky Cauldron. No doubt my mother is pacing like a caged cat waiting for me to get home so she can yell at me or do something really bad to me."

"Such as?" I said as we got up from the table and started walking back in the general direction of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Make me clean the bog without magic. Or something else equally disgusting."

"Oh, you poor dear." I said in a condescending and patronizing (aka I was just being stupid) tone of voice.

"Yes, poor me." George coulda left me right at the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron but he didn't. He walked me all the way to my door.

"Oh, hey, we should draft the thing to McGonagall now and not later, cause she can get pretty pissy about late stuff." George said.

"Yeah, come on." I opened the door and we walked back into the room.

"Hey, you wanna transfer houses?" I asked Aideen.

"Is that even possible?" Aideen asked, looking up from her book.

"You can at least try." George said as I pulled a couple of sheets of parchment, a quill, and ink bottle from my trunk.

"What would we even say?" Aideen asked as I set up at a little table in the room.

"I don't know. But we'll think of something." I said as I loaded the quill with ink.

"How about... How about you write something about how you feel that you were placed in the wrong house in your first year-"

"And I didn't want to ask for a transfer because I didn't want to leave my friend in my house behind-"

"But now the both of us want to move out of Slytherin and if it was possible into your house, into Gryffindor." Aideen said.

"And tell her how you have met several members of Gryffindor House."

"Because we have." Aideen agreed.

"OK, tell me what you guys think of that." I said, dotting the last i and crossing the last t and handing it up to Aideen and George read over her shoulder.

"It sounds good to me." George said.

"Yeah, sounds good to me too." Aideen said, handing it back to me.

"Then let's send her off." I said, folding up the letter and writing McGonagall's name on it. I tapped the letter so that it was sealed magically shut and then I set it down; Belle hadn't yet come back, I'd just send it when she returned or the next morning.

"As much as I would love to stay and hang out, I would not dare deprive my mother of an opportunity of getting mad at me."

"I'll walk you out." I said, getting up from the table. I stepped just outside the door and shut it.

"I'll see you in about two weeks, yeah?"

"Yeah, I'll be here until the end of the holiday."

"Great." George leaned down a little and kissed me on the cheek and disappeared with a crack.

"So, how did the date go?" Aideen asked as I walked back in the room.

"It went nice. We went to Madam Malkin's first because I need new school uniforms and then we went and got ice cream."

"You liiiiiiiiiiiike him." Aideen says in a teasing voice as I put the packages into my trunk.

"So? He's a sweet guy and he actually doesn't care that my dad is a psychopath." I sat down on my bed and leaned back against the pillows.

"Yeah, but Gwen, honestly. You liiiiiiiiike him." Now she was just doing it to be silly.

"Oh shut it you." I said, with a lazy flick of my wand I had Aideen upside down in mid-air.

"Well, bully for you, you can perform non-verbal spells. But do you mind LETTING ME DOWN BEFORE ALL THE BLOOD GOES TO MY FREAKING HEAD?"

"My, my, somebody's persnickety this evening." I said as with another flick of the wand Aideen was back on the mattress.

"That would be because I believe I've been your guinea pig for nonverbal spells since you started learning them last year."

"Sorry." I said as I got up and opened the window a little wider and opened up Belle's cage.

"Don't worry if Belle comes in and sits on you in the middle of the night." I said as I gathered a pair of pajamas from my trunk.

"Say what?" Aideen said as I went into the bathroom to get changed.

"Care explaining that last to me?" She said as I emerged in a Wizarding Sisters t-shirt and red pajama bottoms.

"If Belle's gone out for a fly around and I'm at my house in Stratford and I'm going to bed and she hasn't come back yet I'll leave the window and her cage open so she can just come soaring in and she won't have to wait for me to wake up. She also has this bad habit of sometimes landing on me in the middle of the night and hooting at me to wake up if I've left her cage closed."

"But her cage door is wide open."

"I know, so I'm hoping that won't happen, but I just thought I would give you fair warning."

"Thanks." Aideen grunted, sliding further beneath the sheets.

I blew out the oil lamps and climbed into the bed, which was strangely warm; maybe someone had stuck a warming pan under the mattress or something?

But the bed was nice and toasty warm and with my body steadily growing warmer, I drifted off to sleep.

~Two Weeks Later~

School started again in a week.

Damn.

My last year of schooling started in just a week. Wow, that feels weird!

I had kept my promise to my aunt to not venture into the Muggle world, for the most part.

Last week I went to Gringotts and got some of my wizarding money exchanged over into Muggle money. And after helping Aideen dress into something not so crazy looking (you know how a lot of Wizard's have issues dressing like a Muggle? Aideen is no exception, she isn't as bad as some, but sometimes she doesn't do so well) I took her into Muggle London.

We were bored and had insofar explored every inch of Diagon Alley we were allowed into and I decided that we should make one foray into Muggle London. So that was when I went and got money exchanged and we went and saw a movie.

Aideen nearly inhaled half of her soda up her nose when she'd tipped the cup up too far and it started to come out the cup. She did like the buttered popcorn a lot, in fact, I think I got maybe a half-dozen handfuls before Aideen had eaten the whole thing.

But the part that freaked her out the most was the movie and the effects they had done. Aideen just could not comprehend any of it; and really, the movie was boring and she was far more entertaining to watch.

We hadn't left Diagon Alley since that day and now we were waiting for any day now when we'd meet up with George and the others.

It was early morning in Diagon Alley, the shop keeps were opening up their shops and setting up carts outside on the street. I woke up early and got dressed in a hooded sweatshirt which was used to cover my hair and jeans and sneakers I hadn't bothered to tie but just shoved the laces inside.

I was sitting at a table next to the street at Florean Fortescue's and slowly becoming more conscious over a nice steaming mug of tea (my second) with a copious amount of honey added to it (I hate putting milk or sugar or lemon in my tea).

And this tall, skinny boy with pale blond hair slicked back (way too early in the morning for it, it looked kinda creepy) walked by me and he glanced at me, abruptly stopped in the street and doubled back.

"Well, well, well. This must be mine and yours lucky day." The blond kid said, taking a seat across from me, totally uninvited to do so.

"How's that?" I asked shortly, sipping my tea and refusing to look at him.

"I've run into a beautiful woman and you've run into me. Do you want some ice cream, I'll get you some."

The annoying blond kid, which a second later I recognised as Draco Malfoy ordered a dish of chocolate ice cream not at all politely from a waiter who was wiping off a table a few feet from us.

"Your pick up lines need a lot of work." I said as I finished my tea.

"Really, they do?" Draco said, sounding totally nonplussed and confused as to why his pick up lines needed work.

"Here you are, _sir_." The waiter said in a contemptuous tone, (with the emphasis placed on 'sir' the waiter clearly wished for something rude to happen to Draco) placing the dish of chocolate ice cream on the table in between us.

"I hope you don't mind that I chose for you. Chocolate is my favorite though; and the ice cream is on me."

"You're right," I said as I pulled my money bag out of my sweatshirt pocket. "The ice cream is on you." And with that I dumped the entire dish into his lap.

The waiter who had delivered our ice cream smiled as I went up to him inside to pay for what I had ordered.

"And how much will two cups of tea with honey cost me?" I asked as I opened the bag.

"For dumping the ice cream on that little git? It's on the house, miss." The waiter said, smiling widely at me.

"Thank you very much." I said, returning the smile and I left the cafe and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Aideen was still asleep, so I just sat on the window seat and drew my knees up to my chest and looked down on Muggle London.

It felt kind of weird to be looking down on people and watch their gazes slide from one shop flanking the Cauldron to the other and totally miss the building inbetween. It's like, you know or you feel that they should know, if they just look up about fifteen, twenty feet you'll be able to look them in the face and they you, but they just don't.

Sometimes magic is really, really cool.


	11. Chapter 010

An hour later Aideen had still not woken up and I was sitting on the window seat still, but this time I was looking at a photo album of me and my mother.

There was a photo taken by my aunt Joan just after I'd been born. I'd been cleaned, obviously, and wrapped in a baby blanket and my hair was tufts sticking up here and there of blue, black and red. My mom wasn't much older then I am now when she had me, she and I looked a lot alike.

I didn't realize that I had started crying until a tear dropped off the end of my nose and hit baby me smack dab in the face.

I put the book down and wiped away my tears. I missed my mom and no matter how much I wished for it, she'd never come back.

There was a quiet knock at the door and I hastily wiped my eyes dry as I crossed the room to answer the knock.

"Good morning Gwen, I have a message here for you that just arrived by owl." Tom said, handing me a piece of parchment folded four times.

"Thanks, Tom."

"Are you alright?" He inquired of me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Uh, can you have a plate of éclairs sent up, please?"

"Of course." Tom said, nodding his head and walking off. I shut the door and leaned up against the frame as I unfolded the note.

 _Gwen,  
Today's the day my mum has decided to bring all of us to Diagon Alley to get our school stuff, any chance you could meet us outside Madam Malkin's around one?  
George_

I checked my watch. It was almost eleven.

"Aideen, wake up wake up wake up!" I said, running to her bed and shaking her vigorously.

"Go 'way, Santa hasn't come yet." She mumbled, shoving away my arm and burying her head in the blankets.

"I just got a note from George, he wants to meet outside Madam Malkin's at one and I need your help."

"OK, give me a few hours to get out of bed."

"We don't have a few hours!" I said, ripping the bed sheets off of her.

"Fine, fine. I'm up." Aideen grumbled, sitting up and squinting at the light. "Go run a bath for yourself and get in."

I grabbed my brush off of the nightstand and headed into the bathroom. I turned on the bath and started the water running and I brushed my bedhead as I waited for the water to heat up. This time I picked any stuff that was scented rose and I slid into a rose bubble bath.

"Breakfast has arrived, a most unhealthy one at that." Aideen pronounces, walking into the bathroom totally unannounced carrying the plate of éclairs.

"Have you no sense of propriety?" I yelled, pulling the bubbles up to cover me from Aideen's eyes even though she couldn't see anything anyway.

"The answer to that is probably yes. But dunk yourself and wash your hair, but don't dry it; I'll figure something out to do with your hair."

"And why did you bring the food in here where it can get wet?"

"Ya know, meeting up with a guy you like makes you really antsy and persnickety." Aideen says, picking up the plate and walking out with it, but not before handing one to me.

I ate the éclair and dunked myself like she told me to and scrubbed my hair good so that by the time I came out of the bath, every inch of me was smelling like roses. I had my hair done up in a towel and I was firmly wrapped in a robe when I reappeared in the room.

"Tell me what you picked out for me and what I'm going to be veto-ing."

"Hey, I am getting better at this." Aideen objected as I perched on the window seat and munched on an éclair, glancing at Belle's cage. She'd been gone a week and hadn't returned, I was starting to get a little worried.

"Right. I will believe when the outfits have been shown."

"Then hush up. This is outfit number one: a pair of black jeans and this white thing with no sleeves."

"It's called a tank shirt, Aideen." I said.

"Right. Outfit number two is this Arch Enemy t-shirt and these blue jeans. And outfit number three is this black peasant skirt; goes to your ankles, and this top that sorta matches it again it's white, but there's a black trim to it."

"For a witch who when I first met her didn't know a night shirt from a t-shirt, not bad." I said, pushing myself off the window seat and perusing the outfit selection. What do you think if I wore the peasant skirt with the tank-shirt instead of the peasant top?"

"That would work too." Aideen said.

"Excellent choice woman." I said, picking up the skirt and the tank shirt and heading back into the bathroom.

"Why can't I be a metamorphagus like you?" I said a few minutes later as I looked at a bunch of my hair in the mirror.

"I say we curl your hair." Aideen says, coming to stand next to me. "Nothing too harsh and big, but nice soft wavy hair. Remember last year when we did your hair for the Yule Ball last year and we put it in curlers and made it nice and wavy?"

"Yeah, I liked it." I said.

"Well then," Aideen said, magicking up some curlers in mid-air. "Let's get cracking." And ten minutes later (some of the curlers decided they wanted to attack each other and it took a little bit of doing to get them apart) my hair was in curler's and I had a wand pointed at my head with a girl who couldn't remember the damn Charm I taught her last year to dry hair.

"Drei- Driect-"

"It's 'Drietus.'" I said, a little shortly.

"Oh, right! _Drietus_!" Lovely warm air came out of the tip of her wand and Aideen moved it all over my head, drying my hair just enough so that my hair would be dry, but not uber curly. A final touch of a headband to hold my hair out of my face and I was ready to go meet George.

"Look who's back." Aideen said, pulling on my arm and pointing to the window.

"Hello, beautiful birdie." I said as Belle fluttered onto my shoulder. The poor girl looked tired.

"Aideen, can you go get a small bowl of dry cornflakes from Tom for Belle?"

"Sure." Aideen left and I carried Belle to her cage and placed her inside and untied the note tied to her leg.

"You did good, rest now." I murmured to Belle, stroking her on top of her head. Belle gave a little hoot and pushed her head up to my hand.

I closed the cage door but not all the way and filled Belle's bowl with fresh water before I tapped the scroll with my wand and it unfurled in my hand.

"OK, we have one small bowl of dry cornflakes for- what's with the slightly constipated face there?" Aideen says, pausing in the doorway.

"I'll take that and you read this apparently constipated face causing note." I told Aideen, handing over the note and taking the bowl and carrying it to Belle's cage.

I don't know why, but my owl really had a thing for dry cornflakes. Or cornflakes and pumpkin juice. Don't ask, she's a weird bird, but I love her to death.

Belle gave this happy, but tired, hoot when I opened her cage and put in the bowl and she hopped off her perch and started eating the cornflakes.

"Dude, this awesome!" Aideen said, jumping up and down.

"I cannot wait to show this to George, what time is it anyway?" I asked Aideen as I looked at the words once more.

"One-fifteen."

"Damn, I'm late!" I said, bolting from the room. I don't think I even slowed down for a minute as I ran out of the Leaky Cauldron and nearly bowled over a tiny old witch. Well, okay, I lied. I did stop running to tap the bricks above the trashcan. But after that archway had opened up, I was running again up the alley to Madam Malkin's; dodging every cart, every shopper, every shopkeep, and snot nosed brat that got in my way.

"George!" I yelled as I saw his already familiar figure standing on the street outside Madam Malkin's.

He looked the opposite way from me, up Diagon Alley.

"George!" I yelled again as I got closer.

This time he managed to spot me and his face cracked into a wide grin as I skidded to a stop in front of him.

"Sorry... I'm... late." I panted, my hands on my knees, the scroll practically crushed in my fist as I tried to regain my breath.

"No worries, that why you ran here?"

"Yeah... this just... this just arrived. I thought that you might wanna read it." I said, straightening up and handing George the scroll.

"What's this?" He asked inquisitively, taking the scroll from me.

"Read it and see."

George unrolled the scroll, smoothed it out on his leg and began to read.

The note on the parchment went a little something like this:

 _To: Gwendolyn Martin and Aideen Winters,  
I have received the note the two of you sent to me asking to transfer into the House I am head of, Gryffindor. After reviewing your courses and grades over the past six years and discussing the matter with Professor Dumbledore and your Head of House, Professor Snape, I have reached a decision. You two are now Gryffindor's. And you also mentioned in your note how you have met several members of Gryffindor already and I am appointing Fred and George Weasley, your, guides, if you will until you have become adjusted to getting to your classes from Gryffindor Tower instead of the dungeons. You needn't have to worry about the ties and badges on your cloaks, they will be changed once you enter the school.  
I look forward to seeing the two of you at the Gryffindor table come September the first.  
Yours Sincerely,  
Professor Minerva McGonagall_

"I knew that would work!" George exclaimed, suddenly grabbing me and spinning me around in the air once before setting me back on my feet as Aideen walked up.

"I gather you've heard the good news then?" She says as she walks up.

"Yep. And let me be the first one to say, welcome to Gryffindor." George finishes with a large bow.

"Cuuuuute. But not really." Aideen says.

"I know I am. Now come on, we managed to let my mother leave us alone to do our shopping somehow and the rest are up at the Apothecary."

"And may I add now that you are looking very lovely today." George said, a little smile on his face. Aideen nudged me with a knowing smirk on her face and I shoved her back.

And apparently it was a little too hard because Aideen almost went flying into the back of a really burly looking wizard who was currently arguing with a street vendor over who had smashed a glass object that was still in pieces on the ground.

"What was that all about?" George asked as I grabbed Aideen's arm and jerked her back over to us.

"Oh, nothing." We said at the same time.

With incredulously raised eyebrows, George let the matter go and we kept walking up Diagon Alley to the Apothecary's.

"Here we are." I said, opening the door and letting a harried-looking witch exit first because not only was she wrestling with a bag that was moving, but her three year old son who apparently did not want to leave the store.

"...for the last time, no means no, Jonathan!"

"But I wanna play the dragon mommy!" The little boy protested and pouted while being dragged away by his mother.

"'I wanna play the dragon'?" Aideen said in confusion.

"He probably meant the dragon heartstrings in here." I said as the door swung shut behind us.

"Still trying to get Ron to eat beetle's eyes Fred?" George called as one little black dot hovered dangerously close to (who I can only presume to be the aforementioned) Ron's mouth.

"Yep. I'll succeed one of these days. Where's Gwen?"

"I'm right here." I said, coming out from behind George where I'd been looking at some essence of belladonna; I was running low on it and realized that only yesterday.

"Damn." A black boy with dreadlocks said. As every eye in the shop came to me; though I did notice that Fred's eyes slipped toward Aideen a lot though.

"Uh, Gwen for those whom you have not yet met that's my brother Ron, Hermione and Harry you've already met, the currently speechless prat in the dreads is Lee Jordan and that is my sister Ginny. Everyone else, this is Aideen and Gwen, the two newest members of Gryffindor. Oh, and Fred, you're Aideen's guide until she gets her bearings."

"Si, Commander!" Fred says, mock saluting George.

"Hi." Ron says, swiping the beetle eye back into the bucket.

"What house are you guys transferring from?" Ginny asked.

"A really, really crappy one." I said truthfully.

"Slytherin?" Lee asked.

"How'd you know?"

"I remember you talking back to the Sorting Hat." Lee says simply.

"You talked back to the hat?" Hermione says with great interest.

"I'd been sitting up there forever. I was eleven years old, getting cranky, hungry and I was impatient. The damn thing couldn't make up it's mind about which house I should go into so I told it to pick one." I said.

"You both seem like relatively cool people, how did you end up in such a crap house?" Ginny asked as I bought myself some essence of belladonna, enough to last the year hopefully.

"Well, I told the hat to pick-"

"-And I am the black sheep of my family. Pretty sure I'm only in Slytherin because my entire family has been except for like, three, people over our entire line. I'm also pretty sure my grandmother knocked me out of the family tree too when I was six because I told her I wanted to be in a different house from Slytherin when I was four."

"Who's your grandmother?" Fred asked as we went out onto the street.

"A ripe old bitch; aka Grandma Black. She's blasted half the family off the family tree already, I saw it once when I was maybe five or six. It was the year before she died and my mom had dragged me along on a visit. I started to wander and I found the room with the family tree in it. And there was a grapefruit sized hole where my head shoulda been, under my parents and next to my brother Timothy."

"Nice." Harry said.

"Yeah. So where to next?"

"I need to go to Flourish and Blott's." Hermione says.

And the general consensus is that everyone else needs to go there as well.

"I'd like to see that thing someday." I said as we walked up the street.

"Why on earth would you?" Harry asked.

"Just to see if I'm on there at all. Because technically as the pureblooded mania got even worse and all the pureblood families inter-married I'm probably related to everyone here as distant cousins; because my blood is supposed to be wicked pure. At least, that's what the hat told me." I said as we drew level with Flourish and Blott's.

"I wouldn't have put it past her to have blown you off of the tree though, Granny Black took her pureblood shit _really_ seriously." Aideen said.

A look of understanding passed between, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione and I found that one a bit odd.

Everyone went inside but me and I said I'd wait out front because I'd already gotten all my books a couple of weeks ago. So, I stood all by myself outside of Flourish and Blott's perusing the selection of books on the carts and small shelves outside, just to see if there'd be anything I would like.

And then a few minutes later I was interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice.

"I didn't know there were angels upon this earth! And what is your name, beautiful creature?"


	12. Chapter 011

I stood up and turned around to face Draco Malfoy.

Again.

God, what am I? A moron magnet?

"And familiar beautiful angels at that." Draco half murmured.

Good. He didn't totally recognize me from this morning. Note to self: remind me to pat myself on the back later for going out with my hair covered.

"Those pick up lines really suck, you know that?"

"So I have been told, but come on, would you like to go get a drink or an ice cream?"

"This git bothering you, Gwen?" George asked as he, Fred, Ron, Harry and Lee practically came barreling out of the shop to form quite the protective half-circle in front of me. Hermione and Ginny followed the guys and they came and stood next on either side of me.

"He was hitting on me miserably and failing." I said calmly.

"You wouldn't dare do a- thing." Draco says abruptly as five wands get drawn on him.

"Don't even think about doing anything Malfoy. Five wands to one, you would so lose that fight." Harry cautions.

Draco definitely is smart enough to know when he's beat; that is for fucken sure. He scowled at the guys before slinking away.

"Gahhhh, he is such a slimy git." Ron says.

"Anyone up for a little fun?" Lee says in a low conspiratorial tone of voice, quickly turning around and putting his back to Draco.

"I'd say what do you have in mind?"

"Good woman, not afraid to get her hands dirty!" Fred says, clapping me on the back.

"How's about these?" Lee replies, pulling a half dozen dungbombs out of his pocket.

"Gimmee one." I said, instantly swiping it as fast as I could.

"On three." George goes. "Oi, Malfoy! Three!"

We all whipped the dungbombs at Malfoy right as he turned and him and half this end of Diagon Alley got covered in dungbomb smoke.

"Quick, let's get out of here." Ginny said and we all took off running up the street, laughing our heads off. Even Hermione was laughing and she struck me as caring, but a little bit uptight.

We ended up at Florean Fortescue's cafe and Harry, Lee and Fred took orders while we snagged tables.

"Oh my god that was fun." I said, taking a seat at a tiny two-person table to be joined by George.

"I wish Lee had had another dungbomb on him, I wanted to throw one at him myself." Ginny says, looking a little bit disappointed she hadn't gotten to stink the crap outta Draco.

"That isn't the first time he's been 'burned' by a girl as it were."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked as the three guys came back with our ice cream.

"It means, I was here early this morning enjoying a nice cuppa before the day got going and he was here too and trying to hit on me and I dumped an entire dish of chocolate ice cream on his lap and calmly got up and walked away." I said as I took my dish of ice cream (raspberry chocolate cherry) from Lee.

And that got everybody positively howling with laughter.

"We definitely have a keeper here." Fred said as we all dug into our ice cream.

After that the topic turned away from Draco Malfoy to DADA or Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"I still think the worst one we ever had was Lockhart." Ginny says.

"Here, here." Me, George, Ron, Harry, Lee, and Fred said at the same time on pure coincidence.

"Hermione, you can't have honestly liked him!" Ron said, sounding quite exasperated.

"I know Aideen did, that one is for sure."

"Oh shut up." Aideen said going a brilliant shade of magenta that did not match her hair at all, which was currently orange and short.

"My, what lovely coloring you have." Fred said as Aideen fanned herself in the face.

"Oh shut up." Aideen said, abandoning the fanning. "This is faster." She screwed up her face like she normally does and a second later her hair was blond and shoulder-length.

"Wowwwwwww, you're a Metamorphagus!" Hermione says, in clear shock and awe.

"Yeah, I know. I try not to advertise it too much because then people start asking some really stupid questions."

"That is so cool though. You think they'll teach us that this year in DADA?" Ron asked.

"If we even have anyone teaching." Harry said darkly.

"Oh, we do." I said, picking up the cherry in my sundae and pulling it off the stem.

"What have you heard?" Hermione asked, eagerly leaning forward.

"I heard it's a ghost, like Binns." Lee said.

"I heard it's somebody from the Ministry." Ginny said.

"It is. I don't know who it is specifically, but my aunt mentioned something about some witch being the new DADA teacher." I said, digging a sprinkle out from inbetween my teeth.

"Well, I'm giving her a year. Because that's all they've lasted for longer then I can remember." Ron says.

"That's because you never pay attention in class, Ron." Hermione chided him.

"I can't help it! Our first teacher was You-Know-Who's puppet, our second one was a complete and utter poofta, and our fourth one wasn't even the real Moody! The only good DADA teacher we've had in the past four years is Lupin." Ron starts, counting each and every one off on his fingers.

"That is true." Aideen agrees.

And that is how the rest of the afternoon was spent. It was rather pleasant, hanging out with a bunch of new people I got along really well with; it made me wish I'd gone for a House transfer sooner. But it was around five-thirty or six or so when Lee left to go home and all the others had to get back to where they were staying.

And again George walked me right into the Leaky Cauldron.

"Today was a fun day, thanks for suggesting it." I said as everyone else left.

"Hey, you have to start getting to know your house mates somehow," George said, his face softening a second later. "But I'm glad you liked it."

He bent down a little bit and kissed me on the cheek and Disapparated, leaving me with my cheek exposed and up to the air, definitely not like it normally is.

"You have got to stop doing that!" I said to thin air.

I walked over to the table Aideen had snagged for us and took a seat across from her.

"Lovely day, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Aideen said a little dreamily, staring at the fire with her eyes out of focus.

"What's the matter?"

"Stuff." She said.

"What kind of stuff?"

"I don't know." Aideen said in the same dreamy tone of voice, listlessly shrugging her shoulders.

"Boy stuff?" I inquired.

"Uh huh."

"Would the 'boy stuff' be related to Fred?"

"Maybe..." Aideen replies, still in that same dreamy voice that was beginning to really annoy me.

"If you like Fred so much why don't you ask him out or something?"

"I couldn't do that!" Aideen exclaimed, snapping out of her airy fairy voice into a more normal sounding one.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because... Well, I just met him!"

"So? I just met George and I like him."

"You're different, you're... more ballsy and more outgoing then I am."

"Uh huh. And that's why, up until two weeks ago you were my only friend."

"You know what I mean." Aideen said.

"Well, why don't you give it a couple of weeks into the semester and see how everything goes. I mean, he is your guide for the next few weeks, all you're classes are gonna be matched up with his so you two are gonna be spending a hella lotta time together." I said, getting up to go and order some of the stew.

~The Next Week~

School starts today.

I don't wanna go back. But I do at the same time.

And right now all I have time for is thoughts that contradict each other as Aideen and I are running around like mad women trying to find everything and make sure it makes into our trunks.

"Where are my damn jeans?" Aideen half yells, half the contents poured out on the bed.

"Which ones?" I said as I looked for a mate to go with my lonely sneaker; most of the contents that pertained to clothes and such were floating around my head.

"The ones that had a hole in the right knee. I put them on top of my trunk last night and now they're not there!"

I looked down. Oops.

"Uh, I got 'em." I said.

"You do?" Aideen said, stopping the massacre of her trunk and looking up.

"Yeah, I'm wearing them. I thought they were mine, sorry."

"Oh, good. I was starting to think they'd been stolen or something and the thought kinda creeped me out a little bit."

"Sorry about that."

"Girls, is it safe to come in?" And the sudden piping up of my aunt's voice made Aideen and myself jump a mile.

"Yeah." I called out as I whipped my wand at the stuff around my head and sent it flying into the trunk as Aideen hastily re-packed hers.

"The car is waiting downstairs."

"OK, we'll be down in a minute." I said, noticing the shoe I'd been looking for half under my bed.

"Alright." Aunt Joan withdrew from the room and Aideen jumped on her trunk lid to make it close completely.

"What- do you- think I should- do with- my hair?" Aideen grunted as she locked her trunk up tight.

"Well, I couldn't possibly offer my input without you actually trying something." I said, lowering my lid and locking it with a lot less effort then Aideen had to put into doing the same motion.

"Oh, quit being such a sarcastic arse. My first idea was this:" Aideen screwed up her face and a second later her hair was a fire engine red and in a pixie cut.

"That's certainly eye-catching and attention getting." I remarked.

"And then there's this one:" Aideen again screwed up her face and her hair became shoulder-length straight and a brilliant shade of turquoise blue.

"Interesting." I said.

"And this is the last:" One screwed up face later and Aideen's hair was long, curly and purple.

"What is with you and colors this morning?" I asked as I slipped on a pair of flip-flops.

"I feel like having colored hair." Aideen said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Right. Well, I liked the second one. It looked quite nice with your complexion and all that." I said, pulling a sweatshirt over my t-shirt and picking up Belle's cage. "Are you all ready?"

"Yeah." Aideen said, reverting back to the turquoise hair.

"OK. _Locomotor Trunks_!"

The trunks started to float and with Aideen in front of me and me carefully floating the trunks down the stairs, we made it to the ground floor without any major mishaps occuring (which was a bloody miracle in and of itself).


	13. Chapter 012

The guy driving the Ministry car helped us get our trunks into the boot of his car and with my aunt up front with the driver we were off to King's Cross.

"Thank you." I said to the guy as we got our trunks out of the boot and onto the trolleys found by the driver.

"Your welcome. Have a good school year." He tipped his hat to my aunt and then he was off, jumping ahead of the long line cars slowing to a yellow light.

"Come on girls, let's get through the barrier now before the train leaves." Aunt Joan kinda chivvied us along into the station and through the barrier.

And there sitting on the tracks was the Hogwarts Express, in all its scarlet glory.

"Can you believe this is one of the last times we'll ever go on that thing?" Aideen said from next to me, vocalising what I was thinking.

"No, can you?"

"Me neither."

"Well, you girls can imagine on the train."

"Yeah, Aunt Joan." I said. Me and Aideen wheeled the trolleys over to a car and working together and one at a time, we got our trunks in one compartment and I set Belle's cage in one of the seats.

"We shoulda used magic." Aideen said as we jumped off the train to say bye to my aunt.

"That's the lazy person's way out." I said.

"So?"

"Well, you two have a good year at Hogwarts and Gwen, please stay out of trouble."

"Yes, ma'am!" I said, saluting my aunt. She smiled and laughed a little.

"That's my niece." She and I exchanged hugs and once more she made me promise I would stay out of trouble at school. With Fred and George as our guides around school, I didn't really see how that was possible, but I could at least give it the college try.

"OI, GWEN!" I heard George shout from across the platform.

"Hi, George." I said as him and Fred came over. to us.

"We got you these." Fred and George said at the same time, also pulling a rose a piece out from behind their backs at the same time. Fred had a white rose, George a red one.

"They're beautiful!" Aideen said as Fred stepped forward and fixed it behind her ear.

"Yes, they are." I said as George put the rose behind my ear.

"It matches your hair." He said quietly.

"Thanks for the flower." I said just as quietly.

"You two can stare at each other all you want later, let's get our trunks on the train before it leaves." Fred says, pulling his brother back.

"Oh- Okay. We already got a compartment, it's this way." I bent down and picked up one end of George's trunk. By the time we had gotten Fred and George's trunks up into the racks, the train was getting ready to leave.

"You two behave yourselves this year, you hear me?" Mrs. Weasley said as the twins hung out a window, waving good-bye to their mother.

"Mum, when have we ever disobeyed a rule?" Fred said with a perfect angel face.

"Every week just about. You two make sure they don't get in trouble." Mrs. Weasley addressed the last to me and Aideen.

"Yes, ma'am!" We said at the same time saluting her. Mrs. Weasley went to find her other children and we all retired to our compartment.

"One more year." Fred said as Aideen slid the door shut.

"One more year until we're free." Aideen said, taking a seat next to him.

"What do you want to do?" George asked Aideen.

"I want to maybe use my Metamorphosing as a way to make people feel better, I was thinking about working at St. Mungo's."

"Are you anything like Tonks?" Fred asks.

"I have no idea who that is." Aideen said truthfully.

"She's a Metamorphagus like you are and she's also slightly crazy." Fred says promptly.

"Well, I can change just about everything about my physical appearance, Watch." Aideen screws up her face and the next thing she's an old woman with grey hair and an assload of wrinkles on her face.

"Wowwwwwww." George says.

"Does your hair change color when you get mad too?"

"Only if I'm getting really mad at somebody. And I can also produce certain animal appendages." Aideen says, her face and hair going back to youthful and turquoise.

"I could see where that might entertain people." Fred says.

"Yeah, that's the idea. What are you two going to do?"

"Joke shop." Fred and George say together.

"Really now?" Aideen said, sounding greatly interested.

"Yup. Right now it's just a mail-order service because we don't have any premises. But once we can leave school and not come back, we're going to open up a store." George says.

"What are you planning on doing after Hogwarts?" Fred asked me.

"I'm planning on becoming an Auror." I said simply.

"Out of curiosity, why?" Fred asked.

George and I looked at each other and he nodded slightly; it was okay to tell Fred the story.

But still, I took a deep breath before I said anything. "Ten years ago, there was a manhunt for a wizard by the name of Thomas Martin. Two Aurors managed to track him down somewhere in the wilds of Scotland."

"What was he wanted for?"

"Murder. The Aurors that tracked him down were Arete Shacklebolt and Waylon Khold. The three of them fought and Arete Shacklebolt died of what Muggles would call a 'stress-induced heart attack'. Waylon managed to subdue Thomas Martin and he was brought to trial for now not one murder but two."

"But what does that have to do with you?"

"I'm getting to that. Thomas Martin cursed my mom to death when I was six years old; he used the Cruciatus Curse on Arete until her heart practically exploded in her chest. He was convicted of two counts of murder and three counts of Unforgivable Curse use."

"Don't tell me; Thomas Martin is your dad."

"Was. Was my dad. He killed my mom and tried to kill me, I got lucky and survived."

"'Tried'?"

I smiled a little bit. Fred was starting to look really confused.

"I have ancestors looking out for me; two ancestors to be precise."

"What two ancestors are looking out for you?" Fred asked, perplexed.

"You're gonna like her answer to this one." Aideen says to Fred.

"What do the colors in my hair remind you of, Fred?"

"Gryffindor and Ravenclaw... Oh, you are not!"

"I am. Direct descendant of both. That's why the Sorting Hat took so long to make up its mind about what House to put me in; I have equal parts Ravenclaw and Gryffindor in me and enough power and purity of blood to be considered for Slytherin. The Grey Lady is my great-grandmother god only knows how many times over."

"This is so damn _weird_." Fred says.

"But, yes, that's my back story and the reason why up until now I don't talk to many people. And most people just assume it's because I'm booksmart and shy."

"Holy crap." Fred says, raking a hand through his hair.

"You okay there?" Aideen asked.

"Yeah, wow, and I thought Harry's past was messed up."

"The story takes a little time to swallow whole and understand. It took Aideen a week and a half before she could even talk to me again. Which is why I was a little surprised that you took it so well." I said to George.

"What can I say? I'm a pretty calm, understanding guy." George says, shrugging his shoulders.

"You weren't so calm last year when Eloise Midgen asked you to the Yule Ball." Fred says, sniggering.

"Hey, she pounced one me all of a sudden when I was on my way back to the tower one night, anyone wouldn't be calm!" George protested.

"That seems like it woulda been a funny as all hell sight to witness that." Aideen said.

"Oh shut it." George said, sinking down in his seat like he was sulking.

"Oh, don't sulk." I said, kissing him on the cheek.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch that." George said,

"Yes, you did, you just want me to kiss you again."

"Again, couldn't quite catch that." George said, feigning deafness as Aideen and Fred giggled.

I heaved this big sigh like it was this big problem and went to kiss George on the cheek and he turned his head at the last second and caught my lips with his.

"Oi, that's my best friend you're accosting there!" Aideen yells, pointing as George and I were, ahem, 'busy'.

"So?" George says, as we broke apart.

"Boys." Aideen muttered, looking at the ceiling.

"Excuse me, I am a man!" Fred said in this overly macho voice, posing.

I took one look at him and all but fell out of my seat, laughing. Aideen actually fell out of her seat, she laughed so hard. George was leaning on me and we sorta supported each other.

"Oh, I see the way of it, you all think I'm some sorta sissy woman!" Fred says in this highly offended tone.

"I'll still like you anyway, even if you a sissy woman." Aideen stood, brushed herself off and gave Fred a hug.

"Still not convinced." Fred says.

"This convince you?" Aideen asks as she straddle's Fred's lap.

"Yep, I'm convinced." Fred says, his eyes going wide at Aideen's tenacity and the brass one's she's got to just get up and sit on a guy's lap.

"Bravo. That's the first time my brother has been rendered speechless." George says, clapping his hands.

"Shut up, George." Fred says, peeking around Aideen at him.

"Yeah, when I feel like it. Which I don't right now. Anyone up for Exploding Snap?" George asks, pulling a pack out of his jacket.

"Sure." I said.

"I'm in." Aideen said, climbing off of Fred.

"Me too." Fred says. I picked my wand off of the seat next to me and just to try it (because I've never done it before) I made a small table appear out of thin air; big enough so that we would all have enough room, but not so big it was swallowing the space.

"How did you do that, 'cuz I swear that's the first time you've done it." Aideen says as the table landed on the floor of the compartment with a muffled thump.

"I don't know. I just imagined a table that would be the right size for all four of us to play and I imagined it coming out of my wand. I didn't even know if it would work." I admitted as George shuffled and dealt the deck out.

"That was pretty good." Fred commented as we all picked up our hands.

"I try." I said, looking full of myself.

"Somebody's full of- sonofabitch!" The cards didn't even wait ten minutes, thirty minutes to blow up, they blew up five minutes into the game. Aideen's cards blew up in her hands, giving her a bunch of nasty looking little burns all over her palms and fingers.

"God that looks nasty." Fred says, gently taking Aideen's hands in his and inspecting them.

"Yeah and they hurt!"

"Aideen, do you trust me?" I asked her.

"Yeah, why?"

Again doing what I had imagined for the table, I imagined two pans on the table and them filling with essence of murtlap or whatever the hell that stuff was.

"Stick your hands in that; it should do until Madam Pomfrey can put something on them." I said.

"Oh god that feels good." She said as she placed her hands in the pans.

"I have never seen a pack of Exploding Snap blow up that fast." George said as he packed away the cards.

"I think your pack hates me." Aideen said.

"You could be right about that." Fred says as he leans over and puts his head on Aideen's shoulder.

"Sorry about that." George apologizes as he puts the cards back in his pocket.

"It's not your fault. Though I am a little sad I still have the Trace on me right now."

"Why?" George asks.

"Because I know the perfect spell to blow up that damn deck right there."

"Somebody's getting crankyyyy. Ow!" Aideen kicked me in the shin pretty darn hard; girl got aim, that's all I can say.

"What was that for?"


	14. Chapter 013

"I'm sorry my leg just had a muscle spasm." Aideen said, feigning innocence as Fred and George just laughed.

"You had a muscle spasm my pale white ass." I said.

"So, anybody know when the food trolley is coming around?" Aideen asked, blatantly ignoring me but with a smile on her face.

"Not for awhile." Fred says.

"Darn."

Three hours later Aideen and Fred were sleeping on each other and I had my head on George's shoulder all but fallen asleep.

"Aideen and Fred provide such excellent conversation, don't they?" George says.

"Yeah- no."

"But they are your best friend and my brother and as such we are forced to love them." George says.

"Right, right." A sudden squeaking of wheels and our compartment door sliding open announced the arrival of the food trolley.

"Hey, wake up." I said, shaking Aideen's shoulder as George woke Fred.

"Anything from the trolley dears?" The witch who pushed the trolley asked.

"Yes please!" I said, standing up on the seat to get my money bag out of my trunk.

"Yeah, I'll take a licorice wand, a pack of droobles, and a whole bunch of chocolate frogs." Aideen said.

Fred and George just raided the cart and I then I came along. I brought a bunch of Bertie Bott's, a couple cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties and the rest of the chocolate frogs.

"You dears must be hungry." The witch commented as we spilled all the food on the table.

"Oh, we are." Aideen assured her fervently.

"Well, don't eat all that too fast or you'll give yourselves stomach aches." The witch said before moving on to the next compartment.

"Finally, I am _so_ hungry." Aideen said.

"What, didn't eat breakfast this morning?" George asked as we all ripped into the first thing possible.

"No. Neither me nor Gwen did, we were too busy running around packing our trunks to eat."

"Nope. Which means, you try stealing my food, I bite off the fingers." I said, popping a chocolate frog in my mouth whole. "Mmf, I got Agrippa." I said, showing off the card.

"Ron would be dead jealous of you right now." George said.

"Why's that?" I asked as I ate another frog and got Morgan LeFay for my efforts.

"He's been trying to get Agrippa for years." Fred says.

"Hasn't been successful yet." George finishes.

We feasted on all the junk food that we had bought from the Trolley Witch, eventually deciding as the light started to fail that we should get into our robes.

"We'll be right back." Aideen said to Fred and George as they themselves got their uniforms out of their trunks.

Aideen and I headed to a bathroom in the car we were in and she stood guard outside for me as I got dressed first. I had been eating junk food all day but still fit into my skirt.

"So, you and Fred seem to be getting along very well." I said as I tied my tie and pushed it up.

"I like him. He seems really sweet and nice."

"And you are obviously comfortable with this guy because you all of a sudden up and sat in his lap." I said, coming out of the bathroom.

"Yeah... there was that." Aideen said as she went into the bathroom.

I stood out in the corridor waiting for Aideen to get dressed. I was just standing there minding my own business and who should walk up to me but Draco Malfoy.

"I bet you think your real funny, don't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but get out of my face."

"You and your stupid friends, thinking it funny to throw dungbombs at me in Diagon Alley."

"Oh, that. Yeah, that was funny."

"Something else I would love to ask how could you hang out with Gryffindors, be a house traitor? But that does not matter now because I know exactly what to do with a House and blood traitor." Draco steps in very close and that little bastard actually started to feel me up! He actually had the gall to touch my chest!

Just on instinct my knee flew up so hard between his legs Draco dropped like a stone through the air. I grabbed Aideen's hand and ran, dragging her along up the corridor.

"What in the hell was that all about?" Aideen said as we hurtled into our compartment and I slammed the door, startling Fred and George.

"My knee hurts so much right now." I said, hopping over to the seats and dropping into one.

"What is going on?" Fred asked as George looked at my knee.

"That's what I'd like to know. All of a sudden she grabs my hand and drags me back here!"

"I just kneed Draco in the nuts."

"I congratulate you, but why?"

"Cuz that little bastard tried to feel me up!” I said, quite indignant.

"You serious?" Aideen says as George takes a look at my knee.

"Yeah, my knee definitely hurts a lot right now."

George drew my leg into his lap and conjured an ice pack and set it on my knee.

"So, would I be right in assuming that you've severely impeded his chances of carrying on the Malfoy name?" Fred asks, combining the question with putting a casual-looking arm around Aideen, not unnoticed by moi.

"Mmmmm, judging by how hard I kneed him by how much my knee hurts right now; I would say yes."

"Yes! I knew I liked you for a reason!" Fred yelled as George slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me in a little bit closer.

"Hi, yeah, what am I? A bit on the side?" Aideen asked, pretending to get really pissy.

"No, of course not." Fred says, swooping in and kissing Aideen.

"Hey, that's my best friend you're accosting there!" I said, pretty much quoting Aideen word for word for what she'd said earlier when George had kissed me.

"Pfft, details details." Fred says.

"Eh, chew on a Flavored Bean." I said, picking up a red one and tossed it at Fred's head.

"OK." Fred said, catching it and popping it in his mouth. "Cinnamon." He said.

"Three, two, one." George says.

"I just remembered I hated cinnamon!"

"Aideen, you should eat that blue one." George says.

"Fine. I'm game." Aideen picked up the pointed to blue bean and popped it into her mouth. "Blueberry."

"Your turn." Fred said to his brother.

"Alright." George picked up a green bean and popped it into his mouth. "Green apple."

"How come you two get good ones and I get a really shitty flavor?" Fred asked, sounding quite perturbed.

"I'll eat two just to humor you Fred." I said, tossing him the ice pack. "But couldya toss that out the window first?"

"Sure." Fred opened the window and tossed the bag out and onto the grassy field on our side of the train.

I closed my eyes and picked the first to my hand touched. "Should I do it one at a time or all at once?"

"All at once." Aideen, George and Fred said together.

"Here goes. And keep that window open just incase." I said as I threw in the two Bertie Bott's I had picked.

And, good god, was I right to tell Fred to keep that window open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OoooOOOOoooOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH, lucky chapter thirteen! XD


	15. Chapter 014

"SFIT!" I shouted (I was saying 'shit' but I was trying not to swallow the beans). I jumped up and spat the beans out the window. I jumped down and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I just started chewing two of the most disgusting flavors ever created by Bertie Bott's." I grimaced, dropping into my seat holding my stomach.

"Black pepper and Boogers?" Aideen suggested.

"No. Earwax and vomit." I said.

"Eyuck." Aideen replied as Fred just sat there looking revolted.

"Tell that to my mouth." I said. The dregs of the taste of the vomit and earwax were still in my mouth and it was starting to make me feel really nauseous.

"Are you alright?" George asked, feeling my forehead.

I just shook my head because the flavors had worked their way down to my stomach and my stomach was churning.

"Do you want some water?" Aideen asked.

I nodded. Aideen turned to Fred. "Do you wanna come with me?"

"Yeah. Don't puke on us." Fred says, trying to get a smile out of me.

He and Aideen left and I put my head onto George's shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Eventually." I whispered.

I was really touched that he was as concerned as he was about me, whether I was gonna be alright or not. He really was a sweetheart.

"There's one chocolate frog left on the table, you should eat it, it'll make you feel better and no one's gonna care that you ate it." George said, getting up, grabbing the chocolate frog off the table and putting it into my hand.

I looked down at it. I should eat it. After all, chocolate is the cure all for simple ailments. And it does taste good.

I unwrapped the chocolate and got Ptolemy for my troubles.

"Ron doesn't have that card either." George said as I bit off it's head and felt that warmth spread from my stomach to all over my body.

"Yippee for me." I said as I tossed Ptolemy on to the table next to Agrippa, Morgana, Dumbledore, a dude who was entirely purple, Nicolas Flamel, a witch that looked really snotty holding a potion bottle and my great-times a bajillion grandad, Godric Gryffindor.

"How is it that you get the cards my brother wants but cannot get?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Just lucky I guess."

"All they had was pumpkin juice, so I hope you don't mind that." Aideen said, coming back in carrying what I guess was the cup of pumpkin juice.

"And she gave us two chocolate frogs to give to you for you to eat so you'd feel better." Fred says, tossing the two into my lap.

"Thanks." I said, downing some of the pumpkin juice.

"We have got to be nearly there by now." Aideen said, cupping her hands around her eyes and putting her face to the window. "Because we left the farm fields behind hours ago."

Belle then decided to remind me of her existence by dolefully hooting at me.

"We're nearly there, Belle," I said to her as I ripped open the wrapper to one of the chocolate frogs. "so you'll be let out of that cage soon." Belle just glared at me and turned around so her back was to me. She'd be over it before the week's end.

"She's mad at you." George says.

"She does this every time we're on the train going to or coming from Hogwarts. She forgets that she's not allowed out and she gets miffed with me. She'll be over it by the end of the week."

"Why not let her out now?" Fred said.

"The slipstream outside the window. Each time she pulls this with me it because she wants out of her cage and I won't let her out because I remember what happened the one time I did let her out before we reached school." I bit the frog in half and then got up to get the owl treats out of my trunk for Belle. I squeezed a few pieces in between the bars to placate her somewhat.

"Which was?" George asked.

"She flew straight into a tree." I said promptly, popping the second frog into my mouth. While chewing I just looked at the two cards I'd gotten. Newt Scamander and Bowman Wright, okay.

"Ow. Sounds like something Errol would do." Fred says.

"It was the slipstream. It got her and she went, boom! Straight into a tree."

"Yeah, somehow I don't envision that as being too pleasant. Are you feeling any better?" Aideen asked.

"Yeah, loads. How are your hands doing?" I asked.

"They're okay. A little sore but probably nothing Madam Pomfrey can't fix."

"That's good. I seriously think I've never seen a pack blow up that bloody fast though." George said.

"It's no big deal." Aideen said, getting up again to look out the window.

"And the status report is?" Fred says.

"We're heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee." Aideen says in a sing song voice. "I can see the lights in the castle windows way off in the distance. Hogsmeade has to be near."

As if right on cue, we hear the breaks squeal and we feel the train physically start to slow down. The four of us stood up and put on robes and waited for the train to actually stop moving.

When it had done so we joined the flowing river in the corridor. George and I managed to stay together but got separated from Aideen and Fred.

The two of us made for a carriage and waited for Aideen and Fred to show up.

"Those things look so weird." I said, looking at the thestrals that were going to be pulling the carriage we were gonna be riding in.

"What things?" George asked, turning around to look where I was.

"The thestrals- oh you probably can't see them." I said, still looking at the one closest to us.

"Nah, definitely can't see them. What's the condition to being able to see them? Do you have to be a pretty girl?"

"No. You have to see someone die." I said heavily.

"Oh." George said, the cocky smile getting wiped off his face. "Your mum."

"Yeah, my mum. Anyone who has seen death can see the thestrals. I've been able to see them ever since I first came to this school."

"Ohhhhhhhh, so that's what pulls the carriages?" George asked, clearly trying to keep the conversation upbeat and away from depressing topics.

"Yep." I figure if George was trying to keep the conversation from being said I could do my fair share to help. "Where are Aideen and Fred?"

"No idea." George opened the carriage door and stood on the floor, hanging on to the roof so he would be higher up and able to see just that much better. "I think- oh, never mind that was Ron. Wait a second... yep, I can see 'em. They're down by the front of the line. OI, FRED! YEAH, I'M OVER HERE, NOT OVER THERE YA GIT!" George yells, waving his arm wildly before hopping down and pushing the door shut.

"Did he see you?"

"Uh huh. He definitely heard me too because this," George imitated a rude hand gesture, "was his response."

"That's sweet." I said.

"That's my brother for you." He said.

Aideen and Fred soon came walking in sight. Well, Fred was walking. Aideen was storming. She looked really pissed off and she stormed inbetween me and George and opened the door to the carriage and slammed it.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked as I followed her into the carriage.


	16. Chapter 015

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** The following excerpts are taken from Harry Potter and as such definitely belong to JK Rowling and I'm not trying to plagiarize her work or anything like that, the excerpts of texts just work with my story line so no suing and please don't send me any hoity-toity, full of yourself, holier-then-thou messages or something like that.

"You remember that kid last year who was in second year who most of us thought he was in fifth year because he was so huge?"

"Yeah." I said slowly as I took a seat across from her as Fred followed last and shut the carriage door. "Isn't he related to Goyle the Moronic?"

"Yeah, which means he's about as smart as Goyle is." Aideen said.

"What did he do?" I asked.

"That little bastard decided he'd grab my ass! He just came right up behind me when me and Fred were on the platform looking for the two of you and he just up and went!" Aideen mimed the grabbing of her ass in mid-air for those who had not been there, which would be me and George.

"Charming." George remarked dryly.

"We just turned around and started yelling at the kid and I mentioned to him, casually of course, that I knew a few things that would knock that kid into last month." Fred says lightly.

"Aren't you just a sweetheart?" I said as the carriage rattled and rocked from side to side as we began the trip up to the school.

"I try. It's hard, but I do try." Fred said, sounding like a right idiot.

"Mm, you can practically taste the food being cooked right now." I said, sniffing the air.

"Really? Because all I can smell is mildew and stale straw." George says.

"I'm using my something called my imagination, you should try it some time." I said.

Out the window I saw the carriage pass through the gates to the school and I knew we were close. The carriages pulled to a stop and Fred got out first, offering his hand to Aideen to help her out.

George got out next and offered his hand to me, which I took as I jumped down.

"Why thank you sah." I said, trying to sound overly posh.

"No trouble, no trouble." George said. We took one look at each other and cracked up.

The four of us walked up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall, moving with the rest of the crowd into the Great Hall.

"Wrong way, Gwen." George said, putting his arm around me and directing me away from the Slytherin table.

"Oops." I said.

"The Great Hall looks a tad different from this angle." Aideen said as she and Fred seated themselves across from George and myself.

"Well, you are sitting at the house of greatness." Fred said.

"Uh-huh sure."

A male ghost wearing an absolutely giant ruff about his neck glided up to the four of us.

"Why, hello there! Who are you two?" He asked me and Aideen.

"Nick, this is Aideen and Gwen. Gwen and Aideen, this is Nick. He's Gryffindor's ghost." George said, conducting the introductions.

"More commonly known as Nearly Headless Nick though." Fred says.

"I prefer Sir Nicholas de-"

"How come it's Nearly Headless and not all the way headless?" Aideen asked.

Nick heaved this great sigh like he had resigned himself to it, but still hated it. "Like this." He got a good grip on his ear and pulled and his head came off, but held on by just a flap of skin.

"Eeeeyuck." Aideen said, looking like she regretted she'd asked.

Nick flipped his head back up, adjusted his ruff and glided up the table.

"So, what's Nick's story?" I asked as people continued to walk to their tables and find seats.

"He is Nearly Headless Nick because somebody tried to chop his head off with a blunt ax a couple hundred years ago." Fred says.

"That has got to be one of the worst ways to go out." I said.

"What's the Bloody Baron's story?" George asked.

"No idea." Aideen said.

"I heard a story in my second year. No idea if it's true though." I said.

"You never told me you knew." Aideen said.

"Says the girl who's frightened of the guy. Someone told me in second year that the Bloody Baron killed the only woman he loved in a rage and he was so consumed with guilt when he realized what he had done that he offed himself. The blood you can see on his robes is hers."

"Such a love story." Fred said.

The doors at the back of the hall opened and McGonagall trooped through carrying a stool and the Sorting Hat and leading a long line of absolutely tetchy and frightened looking first years.

"I swear, they get smaller every year." Aideen whispered.

"I agree." Fred said.

McGonagall placed the stool in it's customary place in front of the staff table and placed the hat on it and we all watched and waited for the hat to open it's mouth and sing. Which we did not have to wait long for.

But, by the time the Sorting Hat was done singing it's song, we were all confused.

"Is it me, or did that hat just warn us?" Aideen said.

"Well, Aideen, according to Nick down there," George whispers as he reels in what looks to me like flesh colored string, "the hat feels duty bound to give the school warning when it senses danger ahead."

"It's just a hat, how can it know all that?" Aideen said.

"It sits in Dumbledore's office all year, it has to pick up on what is said in there." I said.

"True."

"And if that nasty, mangy, moldy old hat just told me go be buddy buddy with the Slytherins it can forget it." Fred says, his upper lip practically curling with disgust.

"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our hold hands -- welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

"Here, here!" Aideen, myself, Fred and George shouted as the plates filled with food.

For a time there was no talking because we were all too busy stuffing our faces, strangely hungry after an afternoon of junk food.

“Who’s the old biddy up at the staff table?” Fred asked.

“Where’s she sitting?” I asked, not looking up from my treacle tart.

“Sitting right next to Dumbledore.” He said.

I looked up. Then my stomach proceeded to drop about 30 stories out of me and into the ground.

“Oh crap.”

“What’s wrong?” Aideen asked.

“That’s the new Defense teacher and this is not good!”

“Really, now? What’s the old bat’s name?”

“Dolores Umbridge.”

Fred and George let out twin snorts into their pudding.

“Nice name.” George said snidely.

“She isn’t.” I said fervently. “That woman is touched and in the worst way possible.”

“How so?” Fred asked.

“She’s all in love with the Ministry and she could commit murder right under Fudge’s nose and he’ll just be like ‘oh Dolores is such a team player.’ Her office is covered in doilies and cute little kittens on plates. I wanted to vomit.”

“Can’t wait to get in trouble with this one, eh George?”

“I’m on pins and needles.” George said.

“This woman is the worst. I stupidly had my aunt sign me up for a Ministry internship one summer. Worst two months of my life. All because I had to work with that old cow.”

“There is a bright side to this story.” Aideen said.

“And that is?” I asked her because I really wanted to know. Because, as far as I was concerned, there was no good side to a story involving Dolores Umbridge.

“She’ll be gone by the time school lets out in June.” Aideen said.

“That may be true, but for the year she is here, she will flip this school upside down, you mark my words.”

Right after I stopped talking the food disappeared and the noise level started to rise.

Dumbledore then stood up, which was the cue for all of us to shut up.

“Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices,” said Dumbledore. “First years ought to know that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students - and a few of our older students ought to know by now too.”

Fred and George just grinned at each other.

There was some blah-blah-blahbitty-blah about Filch; I always tune out when I hear his name.

“We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

“Somebody’s lieing through their teeth.” I said in a sing-song voice as I sat there, staunchly refusing to clap.

“Ya think?” George said to me.

Dumbledore continued, “Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the-“

Dumbledore broke off and I started looking around to see why he’d broken off. Then I heard a little ‘hem, hem’ and it became clear that we had one hell of a boring speech coming.

“Thank you, Headmaster,” Professor Umbridge simpered, “for those kind words of welcome.”

Fred had to disappear under the table at this point because he was laughing so hard shoving his fist in his mouth wasn’t even helping. What was he laughing at? Umbridge’s voice. Her voice was so high, so airy-fairy artsy-fartsy, so girly and it totally belied her appearance.

“Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!” She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. “And to see such happy faces looking back at me!”

A quick survey of the Great Hall and George and I exchanged a ‘yeah, right’ smirk. Because the truth of the situation was every student in the Great Hall was looking rather taken aback being addressed as though they were idiotic three-year-olds being addressed by a condescending bitch.

Which Umbridge is, it’s just not the only thing she is.

“Does this face look happy to you lady? Because if it does I wanna know what potion blew up in your face, cuz this is not a happy face.” Aideen said, pointing to her own face.

“I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I’m sure we’ll be very good friends!”

Fred, who had just been climbing out from under the table, heard this and had to go back under, shaking from the laughing fit he was trying so hard to stifle.

Another ‘hem, hem’ (those things were starting to get on my nerves A LOT. And when Umbridge opened her mouth again, there was a subtle but noticeable change in her demeanor and her tone was a lot more serious and business like.

“The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.”

Umbridge shut her little trap and bowed to the teachers. And none of them made any bow back or anything at all. I wanted to clap my hands over my ears and run screaming from the room; many of the teachers up at the staff table looked as if they wanted to do the same. McGonagall on the other hand looked as if she would have loved nothing more then to breathe fire and roast Umbridge alive.

“Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress’s sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…”

“Gwen, what’s wrong?” George asked, catching sight of the look on my face.

“That’s her furious face. Umbridge has pissed her off.” Aideen said.

“I’ll explain later.” I said. I wanted to hear all of this woman’s speech before I could figure just how bad it was going to get here.

“…because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited.”

She sat down and I wanted to throw up.


	17. Chapter 016

“Is it safe to come out now?” Fred asked from under us.

"Yeah, it's safe." George whispers. "Should I move out of the way in case you start throwing things?" He asked me.

"Did you understand any of what she said?" I whispered as Dumbledore continued with the notices.

"Um, I grew up with a guy who thrived off of and lived off of speeches so I just tuned her out. So your answer would be no." George said as Fred nodded in agreement.

"The meat and potatoes of that propaganda speech was that the Ministry of Magic is interfering here in the biggest way they possibly can."

"You gleaned all that from that dry speech?" Fred said.

"'preserving what ought to be preserved', 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited', 'progress for progress's sake must be prohibited'? Those are all big words for 'I don't like the way Dumbledore is running things so I'm going send in my most avid supporter to make sure things go the way I want them to.'"

"Huh. What I remember of the speech makes sense now." George said.

"Gwen's a smart cookie." Aideen said.

A sudden clattering of benches and a sharp increase in the noise level alerted the four of us to the fact that we'd just been dismissed for bed.

"See you in the morning." Fred said to George as he and Aideen got up and joined the flood. George stayed with me because I showed no signs of moving from my seat. When the crowd had thinned up, we got up and headed for the tower.

We were walking along with a bunch of people when George made a sudden turn down a corridor being traveled by a vastly smaller number of students.

"Where are we going?" I asked, fairly sure that unless this was a shortcut, this was not a way to Gryffindor Tower.

"I got a surprise for you, because you look like you could do with a little perking up." George said, taking my hand.

We kept on going down, like we were heading for either the school kitchen or dungeons. George led me down a hallway that was covered in paintings of food. He stopped in front of a gigantic painting of a big bowl of fruit. Reaching a hand up, he tickled the pear and to my surprise, it giggled and shook and a door handle appeared.

"I present to you the school kitchens." George said, bowing me through the portrait hole.

"Wow. I don't think I have ever seen this many house elves in one place." I said as I stepped into the kitchens.

"And they are very polite and will get you pretty much anything you ask for." George says. "For example. Excuse me." George says to a passing elf.

"Yes sir?" It (I couldn't tell gender) said.

"Do you perchance have any butterbeer in the kitchens?"

"Lets me check!" It squeaked, running off and coming back with two bottles.

"Nice." I said as I took one bottle from George.

"I try." George said as I took the first, warming sip. It warmed a path from my mouth to all the way down my throat and into my stomach.

"These little things are quite efficient." I said, just watching the house elves.

"They'll get you practically anything regarding food and drink that you ask for." George tells me.

"So if I wanted some cheesecake or something?"

"Why don't you ask and find out?"

"Uh, ok. Excuse me." I called out to another house elf passing by.

"Yes, miss?" She (this time I could just tell) squeaked, her head all the way back and then some just to look me in the face.

"Do you have any cheesecake?"

"Yes, we do!" She ran off and came running back a minute later carrying a whole cheesecake abover her head.

"How many slices do you want Miss?"

"Uh, just one." I said, a little astonished she had brought a whole thing of cheesecake with her.

"Make that two." George said.

"Yes, sir!" The house elf squeaked.

She cut two slices and put them on some butcher's paper and handed them to me and George.

"I am impressed." I said, looking at the cheesecake.

"You can be impressed on the way up to the tower, come on."

George and I started wandering upstairs, munching on our cheesecake, pausing only to throw away the butcher's paper in the fourth floor girl's bathroom.

According to George we were one floor away from the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, when we heard footsteps and voices behind us.

George grabbed me and dragged me behind a massive pedestal for a massive statue of one hell of a befuddled looking witch. She had her hat on her left foot, her wand hanging out of her mouth, her shoe on her head, and a sock on her right hand and she had the most befuddled and bemused expression her face.

'Betsy the Bemused' the front of the statue read.

"Well, that map is obviously wrong."

"The map is never wrong."

"It says that they're ahead of us still and they're not. In fact, I can't see Gwen or George anywhere in this hallway."

"They're here somewhere, trust me."

George let go of me and we stepped out a few feet ahead of Aideen and Fred.

"What are you two doing out so late?"

"Well, we realized that you two didn't have and wouldn't know the password to get in, so I borrowed the old map from Harry and Aideen and I mounted a search." Fred says, next tapping a piece of old parchment and muttering something under his breath before tucking it in his dressing robe.

"Thanks, you're right about that." George said.

"Where did you two head off to anyway?" Aideen asked as we climbed the stairs.

"I took Gwen to the kitchen because I thought she could do with a little perking up." George said as we came to a stop in front of a painting of a fat lady in a pink dress.

"What are you four doing out of bed out of hours?" She asked.

"Going to bed." Fred said. " _Mimbulus mimbletonia._ "

The Fat Lady tutted, shook her head and swung forward to admit us.

"Nice common room." I said as we walked through.

"It's alright." George says, trying to act nonchalant about it.

"It's alright? Yeah, you've never been in the Slytherin common room have you? Cold stone as far as the eye can see." I said as we started up the spiral staircase.

Fred and Aideen hugged each other before they headed off into the separate dorms, leaving me and George alone.

"So, how do you like being a Gryffindor?" George asked.

"I think it's gonna be fun for me."

"Especially because you have me and my brother to guide you and Aideen till you get your bearings sorted out."

"Exactly. But we should probably get to bed now so we won't be so tired in the morning."

"See you in the morning then, Gwen." George leaned down and kissed me on the lips, a sweet little kiss, before he disappeared into the boy's dorms and I went through the opposite door into the girl's dorms.

"What took you so long?" Aideen asked as I wandered into my new room.

"I was talking to George." I said as I undid my tie and tossed my robe over the only chair available next to the only other bed available.

"Talking or snogging?" Aideen said as I sat down to untie my shoes.

"A bit of both." I said as she got under the covers.

"Nice." Aideen just smiled.

"Naughty girl."

"Whoever's talking couldya keep it down because some of us are trying to sleep."

The sudden voice from the bed next to me made me jump a bit.

"Sorry, Angelina." Aideen says.

"That's okay." She says.

"The bed next to you belongs to Angelina Johnson and that's Elisabeth More's bed over there and that's Cara Truman's bed."

"Ah." I said.

"I'm going to sleep now, see ya in the morning." Aideen pulls the curtains all around her bed and I finished getting ready for bed in quiet before climbing into the warm and soft cushy bed and pulling the bed hangings closed.

~Next Morning~

"Gwen, wake up!" Aideen yelled, pulling my bed hangings back and sunlight just flooded in, pretty much blinding me.

"Mehblerg." I said, quite incoherent.

"Huh?"

"She can be like this early in the morning."

"Yes, because it's the buttcrack of dawn." I said, pushing the sheet back.

"She's also quite cranky the first month or so of school because she's getting used to getting up early again."

"I see and understand. Well, see you guys at breakfast." A door opened and then closed and Aideen sat down next to me.

"You enjoy seeing me like this." I said.

"Yeah, you're right, I do. But, I did get all your clothes out for you so it won't take you as long as it did last year to get down to breakfast."

"Thanks." I said, getting out bed.

"I'll be waiting in the common room." She said, leaving me alone. I got into my uniform and brushed my hair out and left it hanging loose. Grabbing my bag off the end of my bed, I headed downstairs.

"Good morning." George said.

"It's too early for the morning to be good." I said.

"You'll be singing a different tune once you've eaten breakfast." George says, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"You seem cranky this morning Gwen." Fred said.

"Ask Aideen. I am always cranky the first few weeks, my body takes its time getting used to getting up earlier then I would like." I said.

We made it to the Great Hall and found seats near the end of the table. After breakfast we stayed in our seats and waited as McGonagall moved down the table and handed out our schedules.

"Welcome to Gryffindor Miss Martin and Miss Winters. Here are your schedules, don't make me regret allowing you into my house." She tapped two pieces of blank paper and our schedules magically appeared on them and handed them two us before handing Fred and George their schedules.

"Great, we've got History of Magic next." Aideen said, looking quite dour.

"That just means we have some naptime for the first period of the day." Fred says.

"And we have a free period right now." George says after looking at my schedule and his.

"Lucky." Aideen muttered sullenly as she and Fred got up.

"See you guys at lunch if not before." Fred says.

"You wanna go take a nap?" George asked me as the Great Hall emptied out.

"I would love to." I said.

We headed back up to the Tower and we went into George's room to avoid all the other students who were in the common room. George and I layed down on George's bed and I fell asleep in his arms.

~Dream State~

 _A little baby girl lies in her crib in her nursery. She is sleeping for now, but already what little hair she has on her head is mussed up and three different colors._

 _Her father blamed her mother._

'Now my kid's gonna look like a freak because of you! And it's not even a boy! You were certain you were pregnant with a little boy!'

 _The baby girl rolls over and wakes up. Realizing that her favorite stuffed animal is not in the crib with her, the little girl starts to cry, not noticing the woman in a blue dress standing at the head of the crib keeping watch._

 _The door opens and a young woman walks in with "Leslie shut that damn kid up will ya?" at her back._

 _The woman in the dress goes unnoticed by Leslie as she picks up her daughter and starts softly singing to her to calm her down, rocking her from side to side._

 _"It's okay Gwendolyn, mama is here."_

~Living State~

Gwen wakes up with a bit of a start.

"You alright?" George asks.

"What makes you think I'm not?" I asked as I sat up.

"Well, you jumped a bit when you woke up and you were muttering something I couldn't make out when you were sleeping."

"Oh. Well, I am fine, honestly. I was just having a dream about my mom. She looked so young and even though she was married to my dad, she looked happy when she was in my nursery with me."

"Well, I bet you were the only thing keeping your mom connected to this world and I can tell she loved you very much."

"How can you tell that?"


	18. Chapter 017

"Because you haven't turned out like your dad." George says, getting up and getting a drink of water from the pitcher by the window.

"Good point." I said, getting up and joining him at the window.

"I know it was a good point. Come on, the period's almost over, we should head down to Charms."

"OK." I said. I quickly headed into my own dormitory and brushed my hair a little bit before we left the tower and headed for Charms class. Since we were early, we sat down and waited for Flitwick to show up. George curled up into a small-ish ball and put his head onto my shoulder; I had a strong suspicion he had stayed awake when I was dreaming just incase I needed waking up from a nightmare.

"What was your mom like?" He asked me quietly.

"She was a beautiful young witch. I was told by my aunt that when she and my mom went to Hogwarts my mom was one of the most popular girls and she was really into Transfiguration, good at it too. She met Thomas at the Ministry during the summer of her last year and they got married naught two years after she'd graduated. I don't know much about those years but I know I came along the year my mom turned twenty. Thomas was already working being the biggest abuser possible. Because from what I remember of my mother, her magick always seemed not too strong, but there was this strength within her I guess, something that kept her living the day to day."

"That something coulda been you."

"You're right, it could have. When it was just me and my mom, she was a different person entirely. She actually let me try Firewhisky when I was six. I was also really sick and some lady in our neighborhood suggested that my mom try it. But when Thomas wasn't around, my mom seemed lighter, freer, happier. She seemed to almost return to the type of person she'd been when she was in school. And no matter what, my mom never let me see anything that happened to her. I knew it happened, I'm not stupid, but my mom tried to protect me for as long as she humanly could."

"It sounds like your mom was stronger then she thought."

"She was. It's just too bad she'd been under Thomas' heel as long as she had otherwise she might have been able to fight back and maybe she'd be alive and maybe she wouldn't have died to protect me."

"Hey." George said, catching my chin and turning my face toward his, "Don't stock up on maybes. They won't be doing you any good and they won't bring your mom back or change anything that happened in the past. Your mom sacrificed herself for you, obviously your dad- Thomas, sorry," George said as I made a little hissing noise in the back of my throat, "underestimated how strong she was and the lengths she was willing to go to protect her own flesh and blood. And that evidence is sitting right here in front of me."

"Are you taking it upon yourself to make me feel better?" I asked as I wiped my eyes on the edge of my robe.

"Of course I am. As your guide around this school it is my duty to make sure that you feel fine, comfortable, happy, etcetera etcetera anytime you need the pick-me-up. Plus, I like you too much to see you depressed and sad." George said, quickly leaning in and kissing me on the lips. A nice tingly sensation spread from my mouth through my whole body, making me feel rather a lot better.

"You two certainly are early!" Professor Flitwick squeaked as he came walking up the corridor toward us. "That eager to get your final year started are you?"

"Yeah, sure." I said, standing up.

"We actually had the first period free so we took catnaps and then just came here so we wouldn't have to fight through the crowd from the tower down to here." George says as Flitwick tapped the lock to his classsroom with his wand and the door swung open.

"At least the boy is honest." Flitwick said as I elbowed George lightly in the side.

"Hey, the Professor is right!" George protested. I just shook my head and we grabbed seats at the back of the classroom. The bell rang and within a few minutes the rest of the class started to file in.

We took a couple notes and Flitwick showed us a couple of the charms we would be learning over the course of the year and he assigned us some easy homework: a simple refresher course of the Levitation Charm and some others, just to ease us back into the year.

After Charms it was Double History of Magic. Joy. I could barely breathe I was so excited.

George and I had gotten seats by the windows and I was sitting closest to the window and I was definitely staring out it, put into a stupor by Binns.

I was daydreaming something, probably something that was really stupid, when something hit my hand. Disturbed from the random wanderings of my mind, I looked down and saw a folded bit of parchment next to my hand. I opened it right there on the table and read it; it's not like Binns realised what I was doing.

 _Exciting stuff isn't it?_

 _Oh yeah, so interesting my mind possibly couldn't take it all in so my mind has decided it wants to daydream instead._ I wrote back, pushing the parchment toward George.

 _You read my mind. I could not agree with you more. So, first Hogsmeade weekend is in a few weeks, are you going to do anything specific for it?_

 _Probably not. Why do you ask?_

 _I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out together, just us._

 _Like a date you mean?_

 _Pooooosibly._ I looked up from his answer at him and George just gave me a wide cheeky grin.

 _I might be able to squeeze you into my schedule._

 _Gee, aren't you just a sweetheart._

 _So I've been told._

And now it was my turn to give George a cheeky grin. He just shook his head at me and scribbled something on the parchment before giving it back to me. And what he wrote was something that came as something of a surprise.

 _Would you ever go out with me?_

 _"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?"_ I mouthed.

George just nodded. And I knew from looking at him it was taking quite a large amount of gusto and balls to just ask the question. He was trying to not show it, but his eyes gave him away.

I shielded the parchment from George's eyes and wrote down one word and only one word.

 _Yes._

There pretty much aren't any words to describe how happy George looked. He kept his face calm, but you got the vibe of the happy thing.

Quite soon after the bell rang, signaling lunch time. Which I was definitely ready for because I was definitely hungry. George and I wandered up to the Great Hall holding hands and we walked in to see a quite unhappy looking Aideen and Fred.

"Why do you guys look like someone has died?" I asked as George and I took our seats at the table and started piling food onto our plates.

"Glad to see you two look so chirpy-cheerful." Aideen said darkly.

"What happened?" George asked.

"We just had Defense Against the Dark Arts." Fred said.

"Oh." George and I said at the same time.

"So, how was it?" George finally spoke up.

"Pretty much as bad as Gwen said it would be last night." Fred said gloomily.

"Oh no." I said.

"That woman is on a one-woman mission to bring this school under Ministry of Magic control and by extension hers." Aideen said, viciously stabbing her chicken cordon bleu with her fork.

"Poor Clucky." I said.

"You and your chicken thing." Aideen said, shaking her head. But I still caught a small smile dashing across her face.

"Huh?" George said, way confused.

"I had a pet chicken when I was a kid and then a Muggle ran it over with their car and I haven't been able to eat chicken anything since."

"What did you name your chicken?" Fred asked.

"Clucky." I said.

Both the twins raised incredulous eyebrows at me.

"What? I was only eight years old, gimmee a break."

"Okaaaaaayyyyy. Weirdo." George said snidely.

"Oh shut it you." I said, elbowing him.

"So, when do you two have the she-devil?" Fred asked.

"No idea." I said through a mouthful of beef.

"Let me check." George said, sifting through his bag, looking for his schedule. He did find it and he pulled it out of the bag and his face fell and I knew it wasn't good.

"Oh no." He said.

"What? What?" I said, panicking a little.

"We have her first thing tomorrow morning." He said, showing me the piece of paper from hell.

"Bollocks." I said quite loudly. A snotty looking Ravenclaw the next table over definitely heard me and gave me this really dirty look. I just mouthed 'Umbridge' and the snotty look got wiped off their face and got replaced by a look of understanding.

"So, is there any chance you guys would wanna trade schedules with us?" George asked hopefully.

"Not a chance." Fred said.

"Aideen knows how I get with mean teachers." Aideen said.

"Drat, I was hoping you'd forget that." I said.

"Dare I ask?" Fred said.

"We had this substitute Professor last year for one of our classes and I did not like this prof. because she was really mean. To cut a long story short, she was a substitute for my class for three weeks. End of the three weeks I ended up getting four months detention."

"For what?" George and Fred exclaimed together.

"I tried to turn her into a toadstool." Aideen said, looking rather shy all of a sudden.

"What do you mean tried?" Fred asks as George laughed into his sleeve.

"Well, Professor McGonagall walked in halfway through me doing it and she stopped me. And oh, did I get a dressing down from her. And then I got another dressing down from Snape, a round total of seventy-five points deducted from Slytherin, and the four months detention."

"So, McGonagall walked in on you trying to transfigure a teacher and she still allowed you into Gryffindor?" George said.

"Yeah. I don't know what had to be said to convince her or if she was unsure if I was the girl who had done the transfiguring, but for one reason or another I was obviously allowed to join Gryffindor."

"Wait, what was the Professor's name?" Fred asked.

"Uh, some witch, I don't really remember her name. Gwen, do you remember it?"

"Uh, not really. I think it was Cavendish-Plomb or something like that."

"Oh, Professor Cavendish-Plumm?" George burst out with.

"Yeah, that's it." I said.

George looked at Aideen and said, being totally serious, "You are my new hero."

"Um, your welcome?" Aideen said, a bit unsure sounding as me and Fred laughed.

"George, why is Aideen your new hero?" I asked as I got some macaroni on my fork.

"Because, in my second year, the woman tried getting me in trouble with Dumbledore for something I didn't do."

"What was it?" I asked.

"Tee-pee-ing her room." George said. "And hanging a half-dozen toilet seats in it. That was actually another kid and I told Professor Dumbledore that too."

"Where were you when all this happened?" Aideen asked Fred.

"I was the one who actually did it." Fred said.

"Did you get in trouble?"

"Eventually."


	19. Chapter 018

"Excuse me." This piddly-tiny looking second year said, coming up to us at the table.

"Can we help you?" Fred asked.

"I'm looking for Gwendolyn Martin."

"Right here." I said, turning more to face the kid (he was right behind me and George). "What do you want?"

"This is for you, from Professor Dumbledore." The little (I mean it too, this kid was _tiiiinee_.) boy said, handing me a piece of rolled up parchment sealed with a purple ribbon.

"Thank you." I said, taking it from him.

"What have you done?" Aideen said as the kid ran off.

"I haven't done anything. Not yet anyway." I said as I untied the ribbon and rolled down the parchment.

"So what does it say?" Fred asked.

"He wants to talk with me. Apparently, he has time tomorrow night to do it."

"Could this be about your?" George asked, gesturing vaguely about my head.

"I have no idea. I guess I'll find out tomorrow night, won't I?" I said, tucking the parchment into my bag.

~Evening~

"Oh my God I swear I have never had so much homework before on the first day ever." Aideen agonizes as we got back to the common room after dinner later.

"The final crush, that's what this year is." I said as George and Fred turfed a couple of third and fourth years out of their chairs at a table by the window.

"And as much as my brother and I despise doing anything that resembles the dreaded homework, even we have to admit we do need to do it." George says as we all sit down.

"Exactly. We could be spending our time doing something more profitable like doing market research, but we'll never get out of here if we don't pass those fargin' N.E.W.T.S." Fred says.

"Do you guys have premises yet?" I asked as I started in on my Charms homework.

"No. Not quite. We're working on it though." Fred says.

"OK, um, Gwen, what is the spell for levitating stuff again?"

"'Wingardium Leviosa' I think." I said, pulling the textbook toward me and checking it out.

"OK, let's test it out. _Wingardium Leviosa!_ "

And the textbook George was trying to levitate, yeah, that didn't turn out so good. And I mean it didn't turn out so good in terms of the book burst into flames.

"Oh, holy crap!" George cries out as we all jump away from the table as the book burns.

" _Aguamenti._ " Aideen says, pointing her wand at the book and dousing the flames with a nice loverly looking jet of water.

"Very nice my dear." I said, picking up a now very, very trashed copy of _A History of Magic_.

"My poor textbook." Fred says, coming and staring at the book over my shoulder.

"Well, there is no hope for this thing. The fire gets some more fuel. You midgets in front of the fire, I'd move if I were you." I said.

"What are you doing?" George asks.

"Kicking the book." I said. I aligned myself more with the fire and I dropped that book and kicked it as hard as I could. It flew over people's heads and the chairs and tables and landed smack dab in the middle of the fire.

"Score one Miss Gwen!" Aideen shouts, holding my arm up like a prizefighter whose won a match.

"Gwen, please, you're disrupting the common room; people are tyring to do their homework." Hermione said in a somewhat severe voice, trying to look stern.

"Yes, Commander Prefect Lady I will try to be more disruptive!" I shouted, idiot-saluting Hermione as Fred, Aideen and George cracked up behind me.

"Oh, just sit down." Hermione said, giving up the stern thing.

"That I can do." I said, turning around and marching back to the chair.

About an hour and a half later I had finished my Charms homework (without torching any textbooks) and I had made a start on the Potions homework. It was some essay to do with rare poisons and he had passed out a piece of paper giving evereyone a rare poison to write about, and I swear he gave me more work then everybody else because I jumped Slytherin ship.

"I'd get a good night's sleep if I were the two of you." Aideen said to me and George as we packed up to go to bed.

"Why?" George asked.

"You'll need it to deal with the hell on wheels that is Professor Umbridge." Fred said as we started up the staircase.

"Ugh, don't remind us." George said. He kissed me on the top of the stairs. "Night night, sleep tight. Don't let horrible teachers bite."

"Yeah, I'll try not to." I said sarcastically as me and Aideen went through one door and Fred and George another.

"I'm gonna hate tomorrow aren't I?" I asked as we got into our pajamas.

"Yeah, you probably are." Aideen agreed.

~The Next Morning~

"Fuck! I don't wanna get out of bed." I said all this into my pillow, by the way.

"Rise and shine everybody!" Angelina yelled into our dorm room.

"You are evil." I said to her as I pulled back the hangings on my bed.

"You just need some breakfast and you'll be right as rain."

"I'll only be right as rain when I don't have to deal with Umbridge." I retorted.

"Ah, yes, she is no fun. No fun at all." Angelina says. "Well, see you at breakfast!" And then she left.

"Aideen, get up." I said, pulling back the hangings as there were sounds of stirring from the other beds.

"I'm up, I'm up." She said sleepily, sitting up straighter.

I got dressed and brushed my hair before pulling it into a low ponytail.

"Screw the woman, I'm wearing make up." I said, dumping my bag on my bed and rooting through my trunk for my make up.

"What are you going to do?"

"Something simple and easy that'll probably still make her mad." I said as I found the little sack all my make up was in. Leaning into the mirror I shared with Aideen (it was between our two beds) I uncapped some eyeliner and did a thin line of black inside my eyelid and on the outside of it as well, finishing off with a nice little tail. Then I applied black mascara. See, I said I was keeping it simple.

"You're right. You look lovely, so she'll probably bitch." Aideen said when she saw me.

"You're probably right." I said as I got my bag over one shoulder and we went downstairs where we met up with Fred and George and then made our way to breakfast.

And all too brief a time later, it was time to get our little selves off to class.

"Wish us luck." I said darkly as George and I got up. Aideen and Fred had Charms next, so they were gonna wait until the Great Hall cleared out a bit before leaving.

"Good luck." They chorused.

"By the way, I didn't tell you in the common room, but you look very lovely today. I like your make up." George said as we walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Thanks." I said, giving him a small smile. We made it to the class room and grabbed one of the bench desks (you know the ones that seat two people?) closest to the door.

"Hello, boys and girls, how are you this morning?" Professor Umbridge trilled in her nauseating voice as she swept into the room, making the door swing shut with her wand.

We all just vaguely mumbled as we put our wands on top of our desks.

"Oh no, no, no. That will not do. when I address you, I want you to say back 'Yes, Professor Umbridge' or 'No, Professor Umbridge'. Or in this case, 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge.' Now, let's try that again shall we? Good morning class."

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge." We all dully recited.

"Ah, that's better. You can put your wands away, we won't be needing them. I want you instead to bring out your text books and read chapter one. There will be no need to talk."


	20. Chapter 019

George and I exchanged 'oh holy shit' looks as we got our text books out of our bags and opened them to chapter one.

I started to read the first chapter. And I tried, honest I did. But my mind just kept sliding in and out of focus, oh and my eyes were going in and out of focus too. I think I'd been 'reading' the first page for about five minutes when I just flipped the page so she thought I was actually reading.

I was literally falling asleep because the book was _that_ freaking boring. My hand actually just fell off the desk of its own accord and landed on the seat. George looked over and gave me a little smile and mouthed _'bored?'_

I nodded. George's smile got a little wider and he dropped his hand to the level of mine and took it. And that was how we passed the rest of the class, periodically turning the pages in the book and holding hands.

When the bell rang I didn't even bother to pack my stuff up, I just gathered it all and sped walked halfway down the hallway before stopping and waiting for George to catch up.

"What was that all about?" George asked as he walked up to me.

"I didn't want her to start talking to me. And she freaks me the hell out, man!"

"I see." George said as we started walking to our next class, Transfiguration.

"I am going to go insane over the course of the year if I have to put up with that airy-fairy artsy fartsy 'I think it's cute to talk like this' voice."

"Hey, I totally get what you mean. You ask me, it's definitely an act."

"Well, you remember how her voice got when she 'got down to business' as it were and outlined basically what was going to be happening at school this year?"

"I do. That part was actually a tad frightening." George said as we sat down near the back and I packed away my DADA stuff and got out what I would maybe need for Transfiguration.

"Hello, everyone." Professor McGonagall said as she swept into the room and up the main aisle.

And we all said good morning to her audibly because everyone actually _wanted_ to say 'good morning Professor McGonagall.'

"For the first few weeks of term we will be focusing more on Animagus transformations and going more indepth on them then was done last term. Now, to begin on an easier topic: Who can define the word 'animagus'?"

When no one elected to raise their hand, I did.

"Miss Martin?"

"An animagus, I believe, is a wizard that can change themselves into any animal or bug or bird at will."

"Correct, quite descriptive, but you are correct. For example." And then McGonagall had turned herself into a tabby cat with markings around her eyes that must have been for her glasses.

"Nice job." George whispered to me as kids stood up to see where McGonagall had gone.

"Thanks, I do try." I said.

We took some notes; like McGonagall telling us only seven people this century have registered as Animagi, McGonagall herself among those seven.

And something about how when you register as an Animagi you have to tell them what markings you have that identify you as an Animagus and some other stuff.

"That wasn't as bad as Defense Against the Dark Arts." George says as we walked out to History of Magic.

I slept through the whole class, so did George. The only times we were awake during the period was when we walked in and took our seats and when we got up to leave after the bell rang ran. History of Magic is easily the most boring class you will ever have to take at Hogwarts.

"Look boys it's the Odd Couple; Martin and Weasley." Draco sneered as we passed by him and his goons on the way into the Great Hall for lunch.

"He is not worth it." I said to George under my breath as I grabbed his arm and fairly dragged him into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table.

"But he is such a fucking git." George spits out.

"And that is why we ignore gits such as Malfoy."

"But if you just let me curse him once. Just one good curse and I promise I'll stop." George begged me as we sat down.

"No. I will not let you not with Umbridge here. Just take your frustration out on him on the Quidditch pitch."

"Did we miss something?" Aideen asks.

"Just Malfoy being an idiot. He just made a stupid crack designed to piss one of us off." I said as I started putting food on my plate.

"And it worked on me." George said.

"What did he say?" Fred asked.

"Malfoy said, 'Look boys it's the odd couple; Martin and Weasley.' And I told George to ignore him as you, my dear, looked like you had every intention of picking a fight."

"Of course I wanted to, but you dragged me away before I could do anything."

"And rightly so." Aideen agreed.

"Excuse me?" A small-ish blond girl says coming up to the table with a scroll colored a sickly looking shade of pink.

"Yeah?" Aideen asks, turning around.

"I was told to give this to you." The girl says, kinda walking inbetween Aideen and Fred and handing the scroll to me.

"Um, thanks." I said, taking the scroll from her.

"What did you do this time?" Fred asks as I unrolled the scroll.

"Nothing. I've been a good girl. I mean, hello, I coulda let this schmo here curse Malfoy five minutes ago, I didn't. Oh fuck me!" I said as I scanned the note.

"If you insist." George says.

"Now is not the time for sex jokes." I said, smacking his arm. "Take a look at this."


	21. Chapter 020

"Ow." George said after he'd read the note.

"Can I see?" Aideen asks.

"Knock yourself out." I said as I took more of an interest in my lunch.

George handed Aideen the note and after she read it (with Fred reading it over her shoulder) she looked like she wanted to either laugh or cry.

"So... she wants to have 'a chat' with you, does she?" Fred says.

"Well, she can't. She wants to meet with me tonight at the same time Dumbledore does. And Dumbledore wins."

I scratched out a vague, 'sorry, can't come, previous engagement blah blah' and resealed the scroll. "Oi, you, c'mere!" I said to a small looking first year who had ended up in Gryffindor.

"Yes?" The kid said, looking real nervous.

"Go take this to Professor Umbridge."

"Okay." The kid said, taking the scroll and heading for the staff table.

"So, who feels like getting the hell out of here so she can't come and question me?" I conversationally asked Fred, George and Aideen.

"Wouldn't put it past her to get up and come over here?" Aideen says.

"Yep. She definitely would."

"I'm up for it." George says.

"We have a free period next anyways." Fred says.

The four of us left the Great Hall and we didn't really feel like heading back up to the common room so we walked out to the Quidditch Pitch and took seats in the stands.

"I cannot wait to start practices." Fred says, lying on his back on the row above us all.

"I know what you mean." George says from my lap.

"Why, because it's your last year?" Aideen asks hopefully.

"No, so I can take a bludger to Malfoy." George says.

"Yeah, general destruction of the Slytherin team was what I was thinking too." Fred says.

"There you lot are!" And the sorta funny part of it was that the voice came from behind us and we all turned around at the exact same time.

"Hey, Lee." George said.

"How's it going?" I asked.

"Sucks. But that's school for you." Lee said, sitting down next to Fred. "By the way, just to let you know, your bloody nose nougat or whatever you call it, works a treat. Just used it to get out of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Told you she was bad." Fred says.

"Don't remind me."

"How did you know where we were?" Aideen asked.

"I asked random people I saw in the halls. Some sixth year I think he was said he'd seen two blokes with flaming red hair accompanied by two girls heading toward the pitch. And you two are the only blokes I know with red hair aside from Ron."

"We see." Fred says, nodding sagely.

And the five of us proceeded to spend a rather fun period just hanging out in the stands taking the piss out of a bunch of people without them being there. It was no one we knew of course, because then it would be funny, it was just taking the piss out of certain people we absolutely could not tolerate up at the school.

"You know what we should do?" Lee says as we walked back up to the school.

"What?" Fred and George ask.

"Throw a party in the common room this weekend. As a sort of back to school/comisseration party for ending up with Umbridge as a teacher."

"That's not a bad idea." I said as we walked through the front doors.

"But if McGonagall finds out before hand, you know she'll shut it down super quick."

"Who in their right minds would tell McGonagall about a party in the common room?" Fred asked his twin.

"Hermione." George says.

"Oh, yeah, that's true." Fred admits.

"So, we just have to keep it a secret from Hermione and McGonagall and we're all set." Aideen says.

"That's the spirit!" I say.

"On to the next problem then," Lee says as we all climbed the big staircase to Charms (ten minutes before we'd headed back up to the school, a schedule comparison revealed that we'd all ended up with the same Charms period on this day, our schedules were really weird this year). "Food and drink."

"I have an Invisibility Cloak I inherited from my mom. I could use that to sneak food from the kitchens along with somebody else."

"I volunteer for that job." George says immediately.

"And drinks are simple Lee," Fred says. "Me and you can nip off to the Three Broomsticks and get butterbeers and such."

"I'm coming too." Aideen says.

"I never said you couldn't come." Fred says, kissing Aideen briefly. Leaving Aideen to look slightly more mollified then she had a second ago.

"Then we're all set." I said as we walked into the classroom.

Charms was an interesting class as Flitwick allowed us to actually levitate our classmates after we proved we could levitate something inanimate like a book or feather without lighting it on fire.

Aideen levitated Eloise Midgen without her realizing who was doing it for a good ten minutes.

I got to levitate George. And I accidentally made him knock into a wooden ceiling beam. He only knocked into the ceiling beam because Fred decided it would be funny to levitate me when I wasn't paying attention.

After Charms it was Potions and then dinner. And then I'd be free for the rest of the evening, up until I had to go see Dumbledore anyways.

And George and I decided Snape had reached a new low of evil over the summer. How did we come to this conclusion you may ask yourselves? Well, our cauldrons were all set up and stuff like they usually are when we walked into the dungeon, but then came the kicker part. We were to make an antidote to one of the most obscure potions ever created.

Apparently, even the fumes off this potion could put your health in serious danger and he had a vat of the stuff boiling up front. Me and two other kids conjured up masks for people to breathe out of so we wouldn't inhale the fumes and set to making the antidote.

Nobody finished in the hour we were given, nobody. And of course, Snape criticized everybody's. Up until George's anyway. I know I had fucked mine up bad and I was prepared for the criticism that came. But then Snape walked up to George's cauldron and was getting started on ripping him apart when George interrupted him and handed him a bezoar.

Snape just got this funny look on his face and walked away, still holding the bezoar. I knocked over my supply of valerian roots and flowers and bent over to 'clean them up' so I could laugh.

"Have a good giggle?" George asked as we walked up to the great hall from the dungeons.

"A bloody brilliant one. The look on Snape's face was priceless! I almost wish I'd had a camera with me so I could take a picture of it."

"You look happy." Aideen comments to me as we sit down.

"If you'd been in Potions twenty minutes ago, you'd look happy too." I said as I helped myself to some fresh lamb that smelled like it'd been cooked with rosemary.

"But... Snape teaches that class." Fred says.

George tells Aideen and Fred the story while I eat my dinner and by the time he's done telling them the story, even they're giggling a bit.

"Leaving Snape speechless, I love it." Fred declares.

"Watching his face was the best part of it. His lip curled up like he'd just gotten a whiff of curdled milk. Or the ghoul in the attic."

"Oh that thing can smell absolutely foul." Fred agrees.

"We'll take your word for it." Aideen says, spearing some asparagus on her fork and putting it in her mouth. We ate dinner and adjourned to the common room to do homework for the second night in a row. This was not how I wanted my last year to be, doing the homework every bloody night just to keep up with the work load.

I mean, I know it's N.E.W.T. year, but come the hell on, cut us some slack, would ya?

I finished the Potions essay I'd started last night, with my quill taking a fair amount of diction from me.

"Lazy." Fred said, eyeing my quill.

"If you want me to bewitch your quill too, I could." I said.

"Is the charm even approved by the committee?" Aideen asked.


	22. Chapter 021

"No, but I've done it before, I know it's safe." I picked up my wand and pointed it at Fred's quill, just lying there on the parchment. " _Dictonius Movema_." The quill jumped up to attention then stood incredibly still, point just over the surface of the ink well. "Now, tell it what to write."

"Er... okay. Title of essay is: 'The Moons of Jupiter.'" The quill dipped itself and quickly and still neatly scratched out what Fred had just said.

"Nice." George said.

"Oh, it's ten to eight, I'd better get going." I said when I caught sight of my watch.

"Have fun talking to Dumbledore." Aideen says absent-mindedly as she flipped through an Astronomy book and I packed away my stuff.

"If I'm not back before you go to bed, I'll see you in the morning." I said, bending over to kiss George, who kissed me back.

"OK, do you want me to write on this essay or puke on this essay?" Fred asks, a slight note of disgust in his voice.

"Pot calling the kettle black much?" George asked. One final peck and I was off. Walking through the hallways at night was kinda weird, but fun. I arrived at Dumbledore's office and stood in front of the stone gargoyle. I'd never been in the man's office before, so I had no idea what to do.

"What do you want? To see Dumbledore?" The gargoyle suddenly asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"Well, then, what's the password?"

"Uhhhhh.... 'P.S. I love Fizzing Whizbees?'"

"Take the first three words off, love." The gargoyle replied.

"Fizzing Whizbee?"

"There we go." The gargoyle answered in a somewhat condescending manner, but it still rose up and I stepped onto the spiral staircase and it took me up to a small landing and a door. I knocked and Dumbledore told me to come in.

"Ah, Miss Martin. Welcome, welcome, have a seat." Dumbledore gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "May I offer you some tea, pumpkin juice or butterbeer?"

"Uh, no, thank you, sir." I said as I took a seat and drank in his office; the place was absolutely gorgeous. "Is that a-" I pointed to the brilliantly colored bird sitting on a perch behind Dumbledore's desk.

"Yes, this is a Phoenix. His name is Fawkes." Fawke's gave a melodious hoot and fluttered down and landed on my knee.

"Pleasure to meet you, Fawkes." I said, gently stroking his head. Fawkes seemed to hoot in reply and allowed me to go on petting him.

"Miss Martin, do you know why you are here?"

"I would imagine it has something to do with what happened over the summer, sir."

"Partially." Dumbledore nodded, like he acknowledged I'd been right. "There are other reasons also, but you are correct. But first, tell me, what do you know about your heritage?"

"I'm related to both Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, directly. And both of them watch over me. I daresay my hair is the binding link."

"I would agree with you, you were born with your hair like that, were you not?"

"Yes, I was."

"Now tell me about the dreams you told Alastor about."

I described the dreams to Dumbledore and it was easy, because they were still coming to me! After I described the dreams, Dumbledore rested his chins on the steeple made by his pointer fingers and gazed up at the ceiling.

"I should think," Dumbledore says slowly after an interval. "that these dreams scare you, bvt it is clear from your telling that they do not. Tell me, what do you think of them?"

"I just think that they're really, really weird and I don't really understand them that much."

"No, no, I agree with you. Those dreams are quite puzzling. Maybe later a conclusion will be reached about them. Now, how did yours and Miss Winters House transfer go?"

"Really good, sir. Everyone's been really nice to me and Aideen, despite the House we were previously in."

"And the Mr.'s Weasley, how are they working out?"

"Um... good?" I said, fidgeting a little bit in my seat. From the way he was looking at me, it was like he _knew._

Dumbledore smiled at me the way adults do when a kid does something they find cute and endearing. "It is alright. Falling in love with whomever we choose, it is a right afforded to all races."

I just fidgeted some more and tried to smile back.

"What are your plans for when your schooling is over?" Dumbledore asks, his mood suddenly sobering.

"I want to be an Auror." I said truthfully.

"Understandable, understandable. I hope this is not too premature but I see you as head of the Auror office."

"Thank you, sir." I said, a little bit in shock. Me? Head of the Auror department? And I hadn't even taken my N.E.W.T.S yet.

"Now, as much as I don't wish to bring the mood in this room down, I feel as if I must. Do you understand why Voldemort is coming after you, albeit in an indirect manner?"

"As opposed to why he didn't come after me when I was younger?"

"Yes."

"Well... the Sorting Hat said it, didn't it? 'With a bit of proper training and given enough time, you could become as powerful a witch as the legendary witches and wizards who've come before.' As powerful an evil git he is, Voldemort doesn't really have the patience. Because he could have taken me and trained me himself, couldn't he? But he decided not to and to Hogwarts I came, and now he obviously sees me as a threat, doesn't he? Or he would not have tried to kill me in my sleep. Over the past eleven years I've grown into a threat."

"An astute observation, Miss Martin, and a true one. While Harry is the bigger threat to him, Voldemort also considers you a threat to himself. This belief is based entirely upon the purity of your bloodline, but Voldemort believes it and that's what matters."

"Why does Voldemort keep trying to kill Harry?"

"What makes you think Voldemort has tried beyond the day Harry was an infant?"

"Forgive me for saying this, sir, but, I am not as dumb and blind as some of my classmates. There is what you told us at the end of the year last year, and I have my suspicions of another time."

"Do tell me."

"My third year and Harry's first. To think that Quirrell did all that he was rumored to have done on his own down there, that's ridiculous. I don't think Quirrell acted on his own and what need had he for the Sorcerer's Stone beyond gold?"

"Very good deducing, but for some to possess the Stone for its ability to turn lead into gold would be enough of a reason to steal it."

"Yeah, but call it gut, instinct, intuition, or whatever, I don't think so."

"Clever girl with a bright mind, the Auror's would be remiss to not hire you when the time comes. Ah, but look at the time, I have kept you too late when you should be in bed! We shall have to finish this chat another time." Dumbledore showed me to the door and it was when I was on the landing that I thought of a question.

"Sir, there's been something bugging me."

"Tell me what it is so it will bug you no longer."

"Why did McGonagall let Aideen into Gryffindor what with her attempting to transfigure a teacher."

"Professor McGonagall has dealt with a great many students since then, I imagine she's forgotten."

"Sir, again, forgive me for saying this, but if I were Professor McGonagall, I wouldn't forget a teacher half transfigured into a toadstool any time soon. It's because of me or her, isn't it? If you refused the transfer of one of us, you knew the other wouldn't come."

"You've hit the nail on the head as the saying goes. Now, off to bed lest Mr. Filch catches you out of bed." I walked down the stairs and it was only when I was back in the common room (without Filch catching me out of bed, I might add) did I realize that Dumbledore had most artfully steered me away from the topic of what had happened in the dungeons.

And that kind of made me go 'hmm,' because it made me think that I was definitely on to something.


	23. Chapter 022

"So, how did your meeting with Dumbledore go?" George asked me the next morning as we ate breakfast.

"It went okay. We chatted about certain things. The conversation started with what I like to call 'beat around the bush' chatter, him asking me what I wanted to do after graduating from this place and such like that; but that didn't last too long."

"What did you guys talk about?"

"We talked about how I have become something of a threat to Volde- oh for the love of Merlin I haven't even said his name yet Aideen!" Aideen already winced before I even got the word out of my mouth.

"How have you become a threat?" George asked.

"Purely based on my bloodline and who I inherited my magic from."

"Greaaaaaat. A murderous and evil psychopathic git wants my girlfriend dead."

"He wouldn't dare try anything while I'm under Dumbledore's care, George." I said, attempting to assuade his fears.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I trust Dumbledore." I said simply.

"Hem hem, good morning Miss Martin." And Fred started to visibly cringe until Aideen stood on his foot.

"Hello, Professor Umbridge." I said, doing my best to remain... um... 'cordial'... yeaaaaaah, we'll go with that.

"Miss Martin, what are you going to be doing tonight?"

"My mountainous pile of homework." I said truthfully.

Umbridge let out this tinkly creepy fake little laugh. Aideen and Fred almost simultaneously started digging deep in their bags for something while George shoved a massive amount of shepherd's pie into his mouth.

"Could you perhaps take a break from that homework and come see me in my office, say around half-past seven this evening?"

"Uhhhhhh... not really Professor. I have a two foot essay due in Charms, a Potions report on rare poisons, and I have three foot essays due in your class and Professor McGonagall's. And that's not counting the day to day homework we get."

"Well, I am prepared to excuse you from my assignment if you'll take time out of your busy schedule this evening."

"Ummmmm... OK. I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"No, no my dear. Not at all. Quite the opposite actually. See you tonight." Umbridge toddled off and as soon as I judged her to be far enough away, I turned toward George, Fred and Aideen, quite panic stricken.

"Heeeeeeelp me. I don't wanna go."

"Care to help in some market research, Gwen?" Fred says, his eyes almost glowing with mischief.

"What does that have to do with me getting out of being interrogated by that old hag?"

"I present to you the Puking Pastille. You bite off the orange half and within a minute you'll start puking. As soon as you can get to a bathroom and away from Umbridge and stick in the purple half and get it down and you will stop puking and can get back up to the dormitory." Fred says, sliding the candy across the table toward me.

"You serious? That's it? I just have to chew up the orange bit to get away from her?"

"Yep."

"You're both brilliant." I said, grabbing George and kissing him on the cheek.

"Of course we are." George says.

"Time to get to class." Fred says. "I cannot believe I just said that, somebody slap me the next time I say that."

"I will." Aideen says, gathering up her bag.

"See you later." George said as Fred and Aideen got up.

"So, it is a lovely afternoon, how about we go sit outside and attempt to do our homework?"

"Works for me." George said. We left the Great Hall and headed out the castle and down the steps, along with a fair few other students who had the same idea as us.

We found this one spot that was kinda secluded, near the lake.

And we definitely didn't end up doing homework. What we ended up doing was sitting under a tree. My back against George's chest and doing something that was a lot more enjoyable then homework.

Suffice it to say, the afternoon kinda sucked after that and all I had to look forward to was that 'chat' with Umbridge. A bit before seven-thirty I left the common room with a Puking Pastille tucked safely away in a pocket on my robe.

Trust me when I say that I was more then a bit worried about why Umbridge wanted to talk to me and what it was she wanted to talk to me about.

"Ah, Miss Martin, you're right on time." Professor Umbridge said, looking up from the scroll she'd been reading.

I just sat in the chair in front of her desk.

"Where did you get that Gryffindor robe? I thought you were in Slytherin."

"I was. I asked for a House transfer and received it."

"Now, why did you switch Houses? If I may ask dear, I don't want to seem like I am imposing on you or being nosy."

"Of course you can ask, Professor. I simply felt that I, that is to say my friend Miss Winters and myself, we felt that we no longer really fit in in Slytherin and our continued... belonging to, if you understand what I am trying to say, 0ur continued belonging to Slytherin didn't really add anything to the prestigious name of said house." And that is what you would call pulling a satisfactory answer out of your ass while you speak.

"Oh, I see. And, how is your new house working out for you and Miss Winters?"

"It's been quite pleasant. The kids are nice to us, considering the natural rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"How nice." Professor Umbridge said, clearly not meaning it. "Oh, how silly of me to forget my manners! Gwendolyn, may I interest you in a beverage? Some pumpkin juice perhaps? Or maybe some tea? I also have a bottle or two of butterbeer left over if you are interested in having some of that."

"Um, some pumpkin juice would be nice." Now I had to be extra-cautious and pray she hadn't slipped in anything beforehand. Why she would do that to me this early in the year, I dunno. But that woman is sneaky, you never know what she might do.

Umbridge got up and crossed the room to a cabinet in the corner and she opened it and pulled out a flagon of what I presumed to be pumpkin juice.

"So, what kind of career are you thinking of pursuing after you leave Hogwarts?" Umbridge asked as she poured me a goblet of pumpkin juice and a goblet for herself.

"I was thinking about becoming an Auror." I said as I took a tentative sip of the pumpkin juice.

Umbridge nodded her head sagely as if she thought that was a perfect choice or something.

"Now, I was hoping to talk to you yesterday, but I understand that you had been previously engaged to speak with the headmaster. So I suppose now is as good a time as any to speak with you."

I smelled something fishy here. She was up to something.

"What about?" I asked. I placed the cup on her desk and dropped my hand to scratch my knee and pull the Puking Pastille out of my pocket.

"You heard my speech last night, did you not?"

"Yes." I said carefully, my idea of where this conversation was going now that much sharper.

"And you did intern at the ministry one summer, so you know how I like to approach things and how the Minister does things. Cornelius confided in me his feelings in regard to how things were being run at this school," Now I was REALLY not liking where this was going. "And now I feel I must be frank with you. Things in this school are going to change this year. It is high time certain doubters of the Ministry are forever silenced and the student body needs to be policed for those loyal to the old, outdated and entirely too dangerous way this school was run. I feel I can confide in you that soon, I will be given a great deal more power over my fellow educators. And I will be forming my own little group of students into what I like to call the 'Inquisitorial Squad' and- Miss Martin, are you alright?"

While Umbridge had been gazing at a picture of Fudge like a lovestruck cow, I had bitten off the orange end of the Puking Pastille.

"No, I'm sorry, Professor I've been feeling unwell all day." And that was when I sprayed puke all over her desk, ruining several of those annoying doilies. And I must say that it felt quiiiiite nice to puke on Umbridge.

"Here, take this garbage bin." Umbridge says, thrusting one at me as I puke again.

"Sorry." I lied as I ran out of the room almost bent over double, puking into the trash can. I ran, puking into the bin until I was a floor away from Umbridge, then I put the purple end of the Pastille in my mouth and got it down and the puking stopped. I transfigured the bin I'd been using into a piece of paper and tossed it in the third floor girl's bathroom trash.

"You look absolutely terrible." Aideen said to me when I walked back into the common room.

"Thank you for that glowing remark." I said sarcastically as I dropped into a chair by the fireplace. "By the way, the Puking Pastille, it worked a treat."

"Of course it did." Fred said.

"Here, have some chocolate." George says to me, fishing a chocolate frog out of his pocket and handing it to me.

"Thanks." I said, wripping off the wrapper and stuffing the whole thing in my mouth at once.

"So how did your meeting with short and evil go?" Aideen asks as she and Fred drew their chairs closer to mine, presumably so I wouldn't have to speak so loud.

"It was terrible. I swear, with what I just heard, I am **damn** sure that I will not last the year with that old thing here."


	24. Chapter 023

By the time I had related all that Umbridge had told me the short time I was present in her office, the three of them agreed with me that they probably wouldn't last the year either.

And up through the rest of the week, Umbridge was nicer to me in class then she was to the rest of the kids. She didn't make it obvious, but she was.

And by the time Friday rolled around, we were all ready for the party to take place in the common room that evening.

We had made it known to every Gryffindor about the party and everyone was excited. And so far we had managed to keep Hermione and McGonagall from finding out about it.

Nearing the time of the party, me and Aideen said we had to go get a book from the library for a Transifiguration essay (no one need know that we weren't even in the same class) and George followed us out, already under my invisibility cloak. Lee and Fred walked out shortly after we did and then we scattered. I ducked under the cloak with George -- the first owner of the cloak in my family was a very large and tall person, so we both fit under it comfortably -- and we were off to the kitchen.

"Nothing like a nighttime sneak around the castle to get you hungry." George joked to me in a whisper as we snuck through the dark and deserted hallways of the castle.

"Will the house elves still be up in the kitchen at this hour?" I queried as we started our descent downward.

"Oh yeah. Me and Fred have snuck down to get a late night snack loads of times, some later then this. They'll still be there, cleaning up the place before they go about their other jobs of tidying up the school at night and such."

We walked more slowly then we might normally have, but we didn't want the invisbility cloak flapping around our ankles and exposing our feet and letting the wrong person know people where there.

But just the same we arrived at the bowl of fruit painting and George tickled the pair and we shed the cloak once we had climbed inside.

"What can we do for you sir and ma'am?" One house elf walking by us carrying a pile of plates asked.

"Yeah, we were wondering if you might be able to help us with something." George says.

"Anything we can, anything we can!" The house elf says eagerly.

"Excellent. I was wondering if you and a few of your friends here could whip up some food for a small party my friends and I are having?"

"Yes, sir!" The house elf squeaks. He makes the plates gently soar into a sink full of soapy water and runs off and soon enough, George and I were carrying two BIG picnic baskets (they not only looked large from the outside, but were magically deepened). We definitely had more then enough for the common room party.

"It is amazing how accomodating they are." I said as we trudged up the seventh floor staircase

"What took you lot so bloody long?" Lee joked when we'd walked back in and shed the cloak.

"We had two big baskets full of food to carry." George pseudo-grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah and Gwen broke a nail on the way back too." Fred said as we put the picnic baskets on a table.

"Yes, I'm sorry that I had to bust a non-existant nail. Buuuut, let the party begin!" I pulled my wand out and waved it and food flew out and set itself on the table.

And we proceeded to have quite the good time. We talked Hermione out of going and snitching on us to McGonagall when she got back to the common room around ten or so. The party went on until about two in the morning, when by that time I had to pretty much carry Aideen up the stairs because she had all but fallen asleep in front of the fireplace. Fred would have carried her up to the dormitory himself, but the staircase apparently has a nasty habit of turning into a slide accompanied by a klaxon-like wail when boys attempt to go up the girl's slide. So I partly carried Aideen up the stairs, partly dragging her, and Aideen partly walking on her own steam up to our dormitory. After I'd unceremoniously managed to drop her on her bed (Katie helped me get her back onto the bed when she started to fall off, because by that time Aideen was out cold).

I made my way back down the staircase to see Fred asleep on the couch and George sitting in a comfy plush chair by the window, his cheek resting on his fist and his eyes kept fluttering open and shut.

I stood to the side and a bit behind the chair, leaned over and whispered, "You should be in bed."

"Mngh, tuck me in?" George barely managed to mumble.

"Come on you big baby, let's get you into bed." I pulled on George's arm and we made our way up the boy's staircase and somehow managed to get over to George's bed, what with us both pretty much falling asleep by this point.

And George is a lot heavier then you'd think for a tall, skinny guy when he's asleep on his feet. So, I just let him sit on his bed and flop backward onto his back.

"Good night, sleepyhead." I whispered, owing to the dormitory itself was pretty much full of sleeping seventh year boys.

George mumbled something unintelligable and I quietly made my exit and went to my own room.

~Next Morning ~

I woke up with full on sunlight in my face. I rolled over and placed my bare feet on cold stone floor. Bare feet. I had no idea when I'd done that. Wouldn't be surprised if I had done that in my sleep. I do weird things in my sleep sometimes.

I pushed my messed up hair out of my face and shuffled over to the table by one of the windows where a jug of water, cups, big semi-shallow bowl, and towel were always set up. I poured myself of cool water and drank some of it, splashing the rest of the contents onto my face, waking me up some. After I'd been shocked by something colder then the current temperature of my skin, I looked around the room to see if all my other roommates were asleep, because, apparently, no girl had bothered to draw the curtains around their bed. Aideen was still flat out on her back, quietly snoring away -- she'd probably been in that same position I left her in in the wee hours of this morning.

Alicia was still asleep, but Angelina's and Katie's beds were empty. I changed out of my school clothes and into some more comfortable ones: ie, a pair of black drawstring sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. I wandered down the staircase in a pair of slippers to find Fred, George, and Lee sitting around the fireplace, nursing a burgeoning fire.

"We sure know how to throw a party, don't we?" I said as I walked over and hopped over the back of the couch to land between Lee and George, nearly nailing Lee in the head with my right foot in the process.

"Sorry, Lee." I apologized as I sat into a more comfortable position next to George.

" 'sokay." Lee says, sounding not quite with it.

"Of course we know how to throw a party. We still have food left over from last night. Care to join us in toasting whatever we can when we can get this fire up to scratch?" Fred asked as George put his arm around my waist.

"I would love to."

And that was how our Saturday morning pretty much got spent. Sitting in front of the fireplace, toasting whatever we felt like and then eating it. Insofar as I could remember, I had eaten a toasted cheese sandwich, some tomatoes (which actually tasted sweet in a good way when toasted to the point of making their skins burst), some donut hole thing that had gone slightly stale over the course of the night but got better toasted, and a whole lot of other extremely random concoctions.


	25. Chapter 024

After that party in the common room, the school year seemed to kick into higher gear.

Quidditch started back up, so Aideen and I saw less of Fred and George after school and during the weekends, but, because we had classes with our boyfriends, them being gone for Quidditch practice was no great hardship.

Umbridge was still being horrible to everyone, Aideen mentioned to me one day at lunch about how Umbridge hadn't yet done anything super-nasty. I told her to give it time, Umbridge would show her true colors when it suited her the best to do so.

And the sad part was it did not take that long for her to do it.

One morning, a few weeks into the semester, the owl that had just delivered my copy of the _Daily Prophet_ , had barely taken off when I caught Umbridge's eye.

Only, it was not the Umbridge at the staff table. It was this massive picture of her on the front page of the _Prophet_.

"What in the name of Merlin's beard is _that_?" Aideen asked, sounding quite revolted.

"No idea." I said, already speed-reading the article. "Oh Christ Almighty." I exclaimed once I'd read the article.

"It's not good news is it?" Fred asks, warily eyeing the back of the newspaper.

"Where that old cow is concerned, do you think it's ever going to be good news?" George asks his brother before I could answer.

" 'Immediate success' my aunt fanny." Aideen snorts in derision and contempt, tossing the paper back to me.

"What? Her? How has Umbridge been an immediate success?" George asks.

"It's all bullshit. The _Daily Prophet_ , the way I look at it, is pretty much now little more then a tool for Cornelius Fudge to do just that, fudge the truth or not tell us the truth at all." I said.

"Oh, you mean like they print and write only what he wants?" Fred asks.

"Precisely." Me and Aideen said together.

"Wait, who said she'd been an 'immediate success'?" George asks suddenly, a forkful of egg halfway to his mouth.

"The Junior Assistant to the Minister." I said darkly, debating in my head whether it would be worth the trouble I'd get into if I lit the _Prophet_ on fire at the table.

"Who in the hell is that?" Fred and George asked in tandem.

"Uh, you really do not wanna know." Aideen says.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you really don't wanna know."

"Why wouldn- It's Percy." Fred says.

"Yeah." I said, not liking that I had to tell him the answer, but I wasn't going to lie to them either. George had told me awhile ago about the whole thing to do with Percy and the falling out between him and the rest of his family. And I'm sure that, what with this article now out, that Percy had just managed to widen the rift between him and 2 of his brothers.

"So, George, what do you say to... oh, I dunno, sending Percy a _present_?" Fred asked.

"I would say what do you have in mind?" George asks, the mischievous look now covering his face identical to the look on Fred's face.

Aideen and I just shook our heads and let them plan their prank on Percy; both of us sided with the sane part of the Weasley family on this one and what was one harmless prank?

The rest of the day slipped by and as Aideen and I sat in the common room actually doing our homework and waiting for Fred and George to return from practice.

"You know, you'd think that our last year here would be fun, despite the N.E.W.T.S." Aideen grumbles as she looks up something for History of Magic.

"I know what you mean. So far, the only thing we have to look forward to is the first Quidditch game of the season and the first Hogsmeade weekend in a couple days." I said as I wrote about the moons of Jupiter for Astronomy.

"Now I almost wished that my parents had gone through with their threat of sending me to Beauxbatons."

"Why?" I asked, astounded. Aideen had made fun of the Beauxbatons almost mercilessly when they'd been here last year.

"Because I am quickly coming to hate this place with Umbridge here."

"But... If you had gone to Beauxbatons, then you would never have met me or Fred."

"Which is also why I'm glad they didn't send me there." Aideen replies.

"Well, if it isn't the two most lovely Gryffindor ladies." Fred said as he and George dropped into seats next to us.

"Hello." Aideen said, leaning over to peck Fred on the cheek as George kissed the top of my head and then sat down.

"How'd practice go?" I asked.

"Ehh." George says. "It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. At least Angelina didn't spend a good five minutes yelling at Ron for not watching the center goal like last time."

"Ooh, sounds lovely." I said in a sweet (and completely fake) tone of voice.

"So, you will never guess who we ran into on the way up here." Fred says, settling back into   
his chair like he had a good story he wanted to tell us.

"Who?" Aideen asks, abandoning her homework and turning her attention to Fred.

"Hermione." Fred says.

"What's so special about that?" I asked, completely non-plussed.

"Yeah, doesn't she always do hall patrol on this night?"

"Well, yeah, but that's the beauty of that." George says.

"I don't get it." I said.

"Neither do I." Aideen chimes in.

"Well, put your quills down and I'll tell you a little story." Fred says. "Me and George are coming back up here after practice and we see Hermione in the hallway. We think she's gonna give us trouble or something because you know how she looooves the rules. Not so. Hermione asks us how would we like to join a 'study group'," Fred says, making over-exaggerated quotation marks in the air, "and be taught real Defense Against the Dark Arts, not the tripe we're being taught by Umbridge."

"What did you say?" Aideen asked.

"We said of course we would love to join a study group. Then she asked if me and George thought the two of you would be interested in joining said group and George told her there was no question that the two of you would be up for it."

"So, when do we meet?" I asked, quite eager to flout Umbridge and the Ministry's rules -- because that was what we were doing with this group.

"First Hogsmeade weekend, at the Hog's Head." George replies promptly.


	26. Chapter 025

The first weekend (and Hogsmeade trip) in October dawned sunny and too chilly for my taste.

The four of us rose later then we might normally have and we had a nice, leisurely breakfast in the Great Hall before cuing up to get our names checked off by Filch as those allowed to go to Hogsmeade.

Everyone was wrapped up in some form or another as we left the castle. I had on two thick sweatshirts and a scarf. So that hopefully would keep me warm enough until we got into Hogsmeade.

"Oh, George, I forgot to tell you earlier, but Lee said he'd meet us at Zonko's once we got to Hogsmeade." Fred says as we walked out the castle gates.

"Cool." George said.

"Just don't buy anything dangerous." Aideen said, joking.

We all laughed at that one.

"Cold, are we?" George teased me as we walked down the road.

"Just a touch." I said sarcastically, burying my hands in the pockets of my external sweatshirt as a chilly gust of wind whipped itself up.

"Aw, I'll keep you warm." George said, slipping a hand into my left pocket and loosely lacing our fingers together. And my god, that boy's hands (well, the one I was holding anyway) were a good deal warmer then mine were and it warmed me up a touch as we walked to Hogsmeade.

Aideen (who had frozen by the time we had reached the village limits) and I nipped into the Three Broomsticks to warm up while Fred and George headed off to Zonko's.

"Hello, my dears, up from Hogwarts are you?" Madam Rosmerta asked as we took seats at the bar.

"Y-yes." I chattered.

The bar wasn't that crowded yet. I guess it was still a touch too early in the day for the regular drinkers to show up.

"C-can we get two butterbeers please?" Aideen asked.

"Sure." Madam Rosmerta said, making this clucking noise of sympathy. She set two bottles down in front of us and she figured out how chilly it was outside when the door opened and a bunch of kids from Hogwarts came in along with a chilly breeze.

I didn't come up for air until my bottle was a little more then half-empty. And the warm feeling was more then pleasant as it slid down my throat and to my stomach, spreading out from there to take the chill off the rest of my body.

"God I love whoever invented butterbeer." Aideen said, before taking another swig of her bottle.

"Here, here." I said, clinking bottles with her.

We finished our bottles and ordered second ones. We finished our second bottles as the door opened yet again and Fred, George and Lee came in, each burdened down with a large paper bag apiece almost overflowing with stuff from Zonko's. They spotted us and hurried over.

"Is it time?" Aideen asked.

"Just about, so we figured we'd head over now." Lee says.

I payed for our drinks and we left the Three Broomsticks, Aideen and I somewhat unwillingly. We emerged onto High Street and headed for the Hog's Head pub, unintentionally running into a bunch of other kids from Hogwarts who were no doubt there for the meeting.

"Is this place even still open?" Aideen asked as we approached.

"Oh, don't let the decades of grime on the window full you -- that's part of the place's charm." Fred said lightly as we stepped inside.

And the inside of the pub was even worse then the outside. I looked down at the floor and at first couldn't tell if it was dirt or not. Aideen looked and then looked up again quickly, grossed out by the layer upon layer of nasty on the floor. Butterbeers got ordered and we all sat around Harry, Hermione and Ron.

Once everybody had gotten themselves adjusted, Hermione started to talk. And public speaking is not the poor girl's forte, but she got better and more confident sounding as she went on and Hermione made several valid points. That it was a good idea if we learned **real** defense against the dark arts -- true. That what we were being taught by Umbridge was complete rubbish -- very true. And that we should just take matters into our own hands and learn the actual spells because what were being taught now was useless -- very extremely true.

And then some blond-haired toerag had to and be a moment wrecker. He started going on about where was the proof that You-Know-Who was back, and he believed we had the right to know what happened exactly, and how all we had to go on was Dumbledore's word and Harry's and that apparently wasn't good enough for 'His Highness'. All in all, he was being a stuck up prick.

"Hey, Smith," I said right as Hermione opened her mouth to start talking again. "I believe I have the right to not want to run screaming out of this pub with my hands clapped over my bleeding ears because you're being a right stuck-up bastard."

And quite a few people present, including some from Smith's own house started sniggering. I even thought I saw the barman crack a smile.

"Sorry for interrupting Hermione, won't happen again." I apologized, smiling at her.

"It's okay, Gwen." Hermione said, returning the smile. Then she started to get into the logistics of the the whole thing. Like, when were we going to meet, what day of the week, where, how would we let everybody know, that sort of thing.

And then it went off track when some Hufflepuff girl asked about Harry's Patronus and then people started talking about various accomplishments of Harry's during his five years here. And I could tell Harry was uncomfortable and did not like the spotlight at all. I daresay he really, really hated it and probably in large part because he'd been in the spotlight since the day he'd been born practically.

And, I was now starting to think that Zacharias Smith had a perpetual iron rod shoved up his ass. Why did I think this? Because again, he accused Harry of trying to get out of showing us anything.

And then Ron, Fred and George stepped in.

Ron told him to shut up and quite frankly looked like he would love nothing more then to punch Zacharias into last month. Then Fred was snarling and looked like he was ready to rip off Smith's head. And George just casually asked if Smith would like his ear's cleaned out and pulled some nasty, very lethal looking metal object out of one of the Zonko's bags.

The only thing that saved Smith was Hermione stepping in and asking if we were all willing to actually take lessons from Harry. Everyone was pretty much willing and said so. Zacharias Smith (to my no great surprise) didn't say anything, but that could have been because he was too busy watching the metal instrument, still in George's hand.

And then Ernie Macmillan came out with this speech that sounded perfect for a politician... if it hadn't of been coming out of a fifteen year old boy's mouth. But I couldn't resist saying "Here, here." when he said Umbridge was a useless teacher.

And then Hermione told us the reason why she thought Umbridge had been foisted upon us all: the Ministry was afraid of Dumbledore mobilizing us against the Ministry of Magic as Dumbledore's private army.

"How many bloody screws are loose in the Ministry?" Terry Boot asked.

"Plenty, apparently." I said.

Then, as the meeting winded down, Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and said that everybody should sign it. And suddenly quite a few of them were a lot less willing to commit to this. But Fred, Aideen, George, myself and Lee were more then willing to sign and in the end, everybody signed the parchment.

Lee, George, myself, Aideen and Fred were the first to leave, the boys claiming they had 'items of a sensitive nature to purchase.' Once outside and heading up the street, George begged off the buying trip, saying he'd promised to take me out on the first Hogsmeade weekend.

Lee and Fred were fine and Aideen went with them when they went the opposite way from us.

"So, where do you wanna go first?" George asked.

"Gladrags so I can buy myself a bloody pair of gloves." I said as a sharp cold gust of wind cut through my bare hands.

"OK." George said, chuckling. We headed up the street to Gladrags. And it was much more fun then you would think it to shop for something as mundane-seeming as gloves. But I eventually settled on a black pair of woolen gloves that had white snowflakes falling from the tip of every finger, down the back of my hand and vanishing at my wrist.

After that, George took me to Zonko's and I got some practical joke stuff of my very own and then we hit up Honeydukes and between us got a very good stock of candy bought. And then we went into the Three Broomsticks where we had a table in the corner to ourselves and we had a butterbeer. But, by that time were beginning to get hungry for real food and we headed back up to the castle. I was beginning to really appreciate all the hard work the house elves did in making such fantastic food for us.

And the rest of the weekend passed rather pleasantly. I used a thing that resembled the walking set of chompers that Muggles liked to buy (these were essentially the same, only magickally amplified) on Mrs. Norris, scaring the bejeezus out of her. But other then that, we all enjoyed the last days outside we were likely to get until spring.

The feeling of happiness that had endured the course of the weekend died Monday morning.


	27. Chapter 026

I bounced down the stairs of the girls dormitory, still feeling the rather pleasant high of the just passed weekend. I had my robe draped over an arm, my bag hanging off one shoulder.

I had woken up a touch earlier then normal and there were not many people yet in the common room. But a small group gathered around the notice board caught my attention. And from the tone and sound of the muttering, whatever they were seeing was not good.

And in less then two minutes, I knew my assumption about the thing on notice board being bad news was correct. I dropped my things on the couch and bolted up the girl's staircase and ran into my dormitory, making a half-dressed Aideen jump. I told her about the sign and then I ran down our staircase and up the boys, running into Fred and George's room.

"George! George wake up!" I said as I ran in, jumping up onto his bed.

"Whush'issit?" George asked, groggy from the sudden wake up.

"We have a major situation on our hands!" The urgent note in my voice served to wake George up more and make him sit up straight and rub the stardust out of his eyes so he could properly look at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Somebody snitched on us about the study group and told Her." George knew with the emphasis that had been put on 'her' that I had meant Umbridge.

"Wha's going on?" An extremely sleepy Lee asked, poking his wild nest of dreads out from under the sheets.

"Somebody snitched on us about the study group?"

"How are you so sure?" Fred asked, struggling a touch to sit up.

"Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four." I said.

"Oh God not another one." Lee said, exasperated.

"How are you so sure somebody told Umbridge? I mean, we were in the Hog's Head. Who was gonna tell on us? The barman?"

"I am dead serious. Down in the common room, tacked to the notice board is a sign so bloody big it's got everything else covered up. Education Decree Number Twenty-Four and I quote: _'All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.'_ Then some bull about seeking permission to re-form from that bitch and: _'No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquistor.'_ And here comes the kicker. _'Any student found to have formed, or belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.'_ The long and short of it is that somehow Umbridge found out about Hermione's plan."

And all three of them chose that time to utter a long stream of obscenities.

"Well, I say to hell with her. If Hermione, Ron and Harry wanna still go through with the training, so will I." George declares.

"Here, here!" Me, Fred and Lee heartily agreed.

I left the room then so the boys could get dressed without a woman there to freak them out (sounds stupid, but it's true) and went downstairs to see Aideen reading the sign with flaming orange hair (her indicator she was losing her temper and was seriously po'ed). I saw Hermione staring out the window and chewing on her thumbnail.

"Hey, any thoughts on who squealed on us?"

"No, none."

"You don't think it was someone who was at the meeting yesterday, do you?"

"Definitely not." Hermione said, faith in her answer.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I jinxed the parchment we all signed. If anyone told on us, trust me we'd know."

"Maybe it's because it's so early in the morning and I had to come downstairs to an educational decree, so you'll have to forgive me: I'm still confused."

"Let me put it this way. If someone who was at the meeting snitched on us, well, what Eloise Midgen is going through right now pales in comparison to what will happen to them." Hermione explained, chuckling darkly.

And since this disbandment of everything resembling something dangerous to the Ministry included Quidditch under it's massive umbrella, word managed to get to us in the form of Ginny about when and where the first Defense meeting would take place.

When we all managed to get to the Room of Requirement (which I'd used in my third year to hide from Warrington, only then it was a broom closet), there was some more talking, like what we were to be named and I personally very much liked Ginny's idea of 'Dumbledore's Army'. And then we partnered up into pairs to practice the Disarming Charm. I got partnered with Zacharias Smith and after George and Fred had stopped silencing him, I took great delight in delivering a Disarming Charm so damn powerful Smith got thrown across the room onto the pile of pillows.

"Damn." Fred said appreciatively at how far I'd thrown Smith as George gave me a celebratory kiss.

"Very nice, Gwen. Just... try not to send people flying across the room. Even if you don't like them." Harry added the last in aside as he walked by me.

"Yessir!" I said, throwing a smart salute.

The lesson actually was rather fun. It definitely looked like Zacharias was reconsidering if he wanted to be in this anymore, between the short and sweet dressing down Harry gave him at the beginning, George and Fred messing with him without realizing who was doing it and me sending him across the room.

Over the next couple weeks, the lessons were sporadic, occuring all over the week and at times that were slightly different. But they were going well. I mean, Parvati Patil knocked me on my ass with her Reductor Curse, reducing that table to dust and making me fall because I'd been perching on it playing with a Sneakoscope.

But quickly, the first Quidditch match of the season was approaching. And excitement was already starting to hit fever pitch. As usual, because the first match was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the Slytherins were doing their best with an intimidation campaign. And of course there was retaliation. Like when Bletchley hit Alicia with the Hair-Thickening Charm, welllll, let's just say no one would go near him for three days thanks to Lee.

The morning of the match dawned clear. At breakfast, everyone tried to act like they weren't nervous about the match. But George kept rubbing one particular place on his leg so much I thought he was going to wear through the pants, he was so nervous. Or maybe it was because of the boils Fred and George were still stuck with.

"God these things are insufferable. I have no idea how I am going to go through an entire game sitting on my broomstick. Some of them feel like they're about to explode." George grumbled as he got down some toast and eggs.

"Why don't you guys just go upstairs-"

"We are not going to Madam Pomfrey." Fred interrupts.

"Let me finish. Why don't you two go upstairs," I cast a quick look around and dropped my voice to a whisper, "and go to the Room of Requirement?"

"Why the hell didn't we think of that?" Fred asks his twin as their faces light up.

"I don't know, but you are officially a genius." George says, grabbing me and kissing me in front of the entire school and staff.

"If we don't see you before the game starts, good luck!" Aideen says to Fred as he and George get up.

As it turned out, the boys didn't show up by the time everybody had to go down to the pitch and get their seats. Aideen and I grabbed seats across from the Gryffindor entrance, still firmly in Gryffindor territory, with Hermione and Luna.

"So, you think they'll do okay?" Hermione asked nervously.

"If by okay you mean by some miracle the Slytherin Chasers all suddenly suck at throwing the Quaffle at the goal hoops, then yeah, we'll do okay." Aideen said.

"Ron's still that bad?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah." Me and Aideen replied together.

"It's his damn nerves that do him in. I swear if it weren't illegal and would get the Gryffindor Quidditch team in so much more trouble then it's worth, I'd find some way to make Ron lose his nerves." I said.

Soon after the game started and it got hard to talk, I was too busy trying to follow the Beaters, half the time I swore I was watching the wrong one.

Suffice it to say, the Slytherin's did their best to win, but hey, when you suck you suck.

"Oi, that's cheating!" Aideen exclaimed, pointing at Goyle after he nailed Harry in the back with a Bludger, AFTER the game had been declared over and Gryffindor the winners.

"Something's not right." I said, rising from my seat and going to the edge of the box we were in.

"What do you mean?" Aideen asked, Hermione joining us two.

"I would bet my broomstick that at this moment down on the pitch Malfoy is being the most horrible little bastard he can be." I said to Aideen.

"Look!" Hermione gasped, pointing in horror at the pitch. Harry was just managing to keep George restrained and Angelina, Katie and Alicia were doing their damndest to keep Fred restrained too.

"NO!" Me and Aideen yelled when Malfoy said something that made Harry snap and both him and George run at Malfoy and start beating the crap out of him.

"Come on!" I said turning and running out of the box, Aideen and Hermione close behind me.


	28. Chapter 027

As we ran away from the pitch, we met Fred and the four of us bolted up to the school, to McGonagall's office.

Fred only had one Extendable Ear on him, so we all crowded around that as he fed it under door to listen to what was going on. I nearly fell over in anger at hearing there was yet _another_ bloody educational decree. The worst reaction was out of Fred when he heard that he'd been banned for life, even though he had never laid so much as a finger nail on Malfoy. Aideen had to slap her hand down over his mouth to muffle the outraged yell that came out of it.

And then when we heard Umbridge heading for the door, Fred yanked the ear out and we ran up the hall and quickly crammed all four of us behind a bloody big vase. Well, I jumped into the vase at the last second but we all had to hide quickly because we would have been in trouble no doubt if we'd been caught.

As it was when we 'found' Harry and George both of them looked miserable. I just took George's hand without a word and held it in both of mine and we all headed up to the tower in silence.

"I cannot believe that miserable old bat has the fucking gall to kick us off the team!" George roars once they're all back in the safety of the common room.

"Why'd she ban Fred though? He didn't do anything." Hermione says sympathetically.

"If I wasn't being held back I would have. And don't forget we've been banned for life." Fred says, dropping on to a couch.

"She was just pissed off that McGonagall went above her head to reform the team." I said, straddling George's lap and putting my arms around him (AN: for those of you who think Gwen is flashing, she isn't. She has her robe on and it covers). George wordlessly put his arms around me and rested his cheek on top of my head.

"And more. It's her mission here to make everyone but the Slytherin's miserable." Harry says disparagingly.

"Angelina is going to kill us." George remarks matter-of-factly.

"This is horrible." Hermione says.

"Replacing us is gonna be hell on earth for Ange. We were the best beaters and seeker this team has had in years." Fred says.

And no one bothers to refute Fred because we all know it's true.

"You three-" Angelina voice springs up suddenly making us all jump. "I have no words. I understand you were provoked into attacking that little jerk, but- You know what? I'm too upset and pissed off to talk!"

I quickly got up and put my arm around Angelina and steered her toward the staircase.

"Come on, Angie. What you need right now is to lay down and not go crazy on us."

I got her up the staircase and into our dormitory and I sat her on her bed. Then I went to my trunk and opened it up and got out a little bottle of Ogden's Firewhisky (take that Umbridge!).

"Here, this probably won't hurt either." I said, unscrewing the lid of the bottle.

"Firewhisky?"

"It'll take the edge off." I took a quick swig and tried not to have a coughing fit as the alcohol burned its way down my throat. I silently handed Angelina the bottle and she took a swig, half of it flying out of her mouth as she coughed. I thumped her on the back until she got her breathing under control and her face went from the brilliant shade of red back to its normal color.

"Feel any better?" I asked conversationally.

"A bit." Angelina admits.

"Good. Now, get into your bed. I was serious about that lay down bit."

After Angelina had been tucked into bed and the whisky had been replaced in my trunk, I went back downstairs.

"Is she still mad?" Harry asked.

"Probably, but the Firewhisky most likely helped take that bit of an edge off."

"Firewhisky?" Hermione said.

"She needed it and we only had a quick nip."

"Is Angelina sleeping now?" George asks as I sat down next to him.

"I don't know, but I did tuck her into bed and left her alone."

~The Next Morning~

"I think I'm gonna try out for Beater." I said thoughtfully at breakfast the morning after the banning of Fred, George, and Harry.

"When did you decide this?" George asked.

"Last night as I was getting ready for bed."

"Have you ever played Quidditch before?" Fred asked, just sounding plain old bitter; I couldn't blame him for that one. That and apparently last night, when me and Aideen were up in our room doing complicated homework we needed quiet for, the rest of the team minus Ron (who'd wandered in long after and been told the whole sorry tale) had shared in a group pity party, again, could not blame them there.

"Actually, I tried out for the Quidditch team for my old House in third year. I tried for Beater but Flint went with the two meatsacks who didn't have two brain cells to rub between 'em-"

"Derrick and Bole." George said grimly.

"Yeah. I was good at trial's and the only reason why I didn't make it on the team was because Flint asked me out the week before and I'd told him where to get off."

"Nice." Fred and George say, the ghosts of smiles flitting across their faces.

"Where's Angelina? I think I'll tell her now." I said, looking up and down the table for her and I spotted her near the staff end of the table with Katie and Alicia.

"Be right back." I said, getting up.

"'kay." George said, putting a forkful of egg in his mouth.

"Hey, Angelina. Katie, Alicia." I said as I walked up to them.

"Hey, Gwen." Katie said. Alicia nodded, her mouth too full of cereal, and poor Angelina just sat there staring at her plate of food.

"Uh, Angelina, I was just wondering when you were going to hold tryouts for the- you know." I said, finishing a bit lamely.

"This Saturday." She said glumly.

"Great. I wanna try out for Beater."

"Have you ever played before?" Alicia asked for all three of them.

"I tried out for my old House in third year, but the captain was a wee bit sexist and didn't let me on the team." I told them. "But I did manage to knock him out with a well-aimed bludger to the back of the head that landed him in the Hospital Wing for almost a week."

"Wait, didn't Flint get hit in the back of the head with a bludger during trials a few years ago?" Angelina asked, picking her head up.

"Guilty." I said, raising my hand.

"Niiiice." Katie said appreciatively.

"So, I'll see you all Saturday."

"If you can do what you did during trials again, yeah." Angelina said.


	29. Chapter 028

George's gloomy mood persisted over the next few days, so did Fred's. After two days, I could not take it anymore. So, one night, I asked George if 'he would mind terribly if we took a walk around the castle, because my knee hurt and I wanted to see if walking it off would work.'

I really had been prepared to use any excuse neccessary to get us out of that common room, so I could put into action my plan to cheer him up. It was Friday; more snow had fallen since the night of the first match of the season. And the next day it was probably going to suck doing tryouts in the cold and snow. George and I just walked along, holding hands, not saying anything.

We were walking past the Vanishing Cabinet when we heard a distinctive and most unwelcome meow.

"Shit." I swore.

"Run!" George said.

I yanked him along after me as I desperately ran for the Barnabas the Barmy tapestry. I knew if I could get there we'd be safe. And trust me, when we rounded the corner I was already thinking hard 'we need a place to hide from Filch and Mrs. Norris, we need a place to hide from Filch and Mrs. Norris.' This non-descript, boring looking wooden door appeared out of nowhere and me and George jumped in and shut the door, listening as Filch ran up the hallway and stopped very near us. We could hear him wheezing as he tried to puzzle out where we had gone to.

Finally, after what felt like a freaking eternity, Filch moved up the hallway and left.

"Do you think it's safe to go back out there?" George asked after an appropriate interval of time.

"No. I'd think it be best if we hid in the Room of Requirement till morning."

"Gwen? Right now the room is a _broom closet_."

"I know you're upset, but use your imagination." I said, placing a hand on the side of his face. It was dark in the interior of the cabinet, but I could tell George responded positively to my touch (AN: And not in that way).

 _I need a bigger room, enough for two people to hide in until day has come. And it must be lit._ I thought to myself. I didn't need George's 'whoa' to know that It'd worked.

The room indeed was larger, comfortably large for the two of us for just one night. There were brackets every few feet along the walls with lit torches in them. And I knew when George closed his eyes and a fireplace with lit fire and everything appeared on the well, what he had required of the room.

I closed my eyes one last time and thought of a four poster bed, but with no hangings made out of wood, king size, with goosedown feather pillows and soft bed coverings and a thick warm comforter.

"We are going to be cozy." George said when he got an eyeful of the bed. "But where are we going to pee?"

As if in answer, a table with many different kinds of chamberpots popped into existence, along with a window we could dump the waste out of.

"That answers my question." George says to no one in particular.

"Just one more thing." I said and nightclothes for us appeared on the bed. Some kind of knee-length white cotton shift with thin sleeves for me and a red and gold pajama bottoms and longsleeved top for George.

"Wowwwww." We said at the same time.

"I definitely think I like this room a lot." George said as I walked over to the window that would be easy to unlatch when I had a full chamberpot to tip out.

"What're you thinking?" George asked quietly, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on the top of my head.

"How I can cheer you up. I don't like seeing you all gloomy and bummed out like you have been for the past few days, I don't like it at all. I like having my happier George, the one who would love to send dung to his brother because he's a git. I miss that George." I said.

"Is that why you got me out of the tower on the pretense of a knee that was being annoying?"

"Yes. I had another plan entirely in my head of how to cheer you up, but then Mrs. Norris so rudely interrupted us."

"Well, she's not here now." George said, turning me around and pressing me up against the wall as we started to kiss.

How, in the space of technically three months did I go from thinking George was a nice guy, sweet and a good kisser but he's also a little nutty, like his brother. How did I go from thinking like that to thinking some really strong feelings about him, and in such a short time? From, he'd probably slip me some joke product when I wasn't looking to I know he'd be there to catch me if I fell.

How in the hell did all this happen?

And then somehow, George and I ended up on the bed. Our robes strewn carelessly across the floor, our shoes and socks thrown about haphazardly. My vest and his had somehow managed to go missing from our persons, but all I knew was kissing George and how good it felt.

"George, wait." I said, grabbing his wrist right as it was about to disappear under my half un-buttoned shirt.

"What's wrong?" He asked pushing himself up higher to look me in the eyes better.

"I- I like what we're doing, but... I don't think I'm ready yet."

George just smiled this really calm and sweet looking smile. "Okay then. I won't force you to do anything you wouldn't want to do."

"Thank you." I said.

"No problem." George says, leaning over to kiss me. "Do you wanna just call it a night then? Get into the pajamas and go to sleep?"

"Yeah." George and I climbed off of the bed and turned our backs on each other as we strippped and got into the pajamas that the room had provided for us.

And when we climbed into bed, it was every bit as warm and comfortable as it had looked. I snuggled up to George and he put his arm around me and I rested my head on his chest.

"I give you an A for effort." George says.

"Huh?"

"For attempting to do something to cheer me up. That's what I give you an A for effort."

"And on actual delivery?"

"An A minus."

"But, I didn't actually get to do what it was that I wanted to."

"I know, but it is the thought that counts. And we did end up in the Room of Requirement, alone and together."

I considered what George had said silently for a moment. "You're right. I guess in a way it sort of worked out."

"Of course I am right." George says, sounding awful smug about it.

"Oh shut up." You say, snuggling a touch closer.

"Yes, _mother_." said George quiiite sarcastically.

I don't remember if we spoke after that. I just remember drifting off to sleep in George's arms in a warm bed and feeling safe.

That night was the first night -- in over a year -- that the dreams didn't come to me.


	30. Chapter 029

It turned out when we got back to the common room the next morning that Angelina had postponed tryouts until the Tuesday before break, for hope that the weather would get better and some of the snow might melt by then.

Of course George and I endured some playful ribbing along the lines of 'and where were you two all night' and 'what were you two doing?' and other stuff of this nature.

December came up on us out of nowhere. More snow came, the homework load got worse, if anything. Why did they always increase homework over Christmas vacation? Why?

"Hey, Gwen." George said, kissing my temple before sliding into the seat next to me. "Aideen." George said, nodding his head as Fred slid into a seat next to her.

"You're freezing! What have you been doing?" I said as took George's face in my hands in an attempt to warm it up.

"Annoying Ron again by bewitching snowballs to bounce off the window." Fred says.

"Which took much longer then I thought it would for our brother's fuse to light."

"Yes, maybe Hermione's having too much an influence on him."

"It's possible. But, on to more important matters. Somehow, our mother managed to find out that we were dating-"

"And believe me when I say we did not tell her and we actually tried to keep it from her." Fred interrupts.

"But the point is that she wants to meet you two and told one of us to invite you two to the Burrow for Christmas."

"Mind you there's not much chance she'll let us room together which would be easier because the house is likely to be quite cramped over the holidays," Fred says, putting emphasis on 'quite.' "and you'll probably be rooming with Ginny."

"I just hope mum and dad are prepared to magically enlarge Ginny's room. Otherwise there is no way the three of you will fit in there." George comments.

"I'm sure we'll all fit somehow." I said.

"So you'll come?"

"Sure." Aideen says.

"Yeah, and it'd probably be kinda fun to get to know your mother better then hiding her son who was running like a chickenshit from her in my bathroom." I said, teasing Fred.

Fred makes a face and some odd noises that I think were supposed to be speech, but I wasn't quite sure.

The days slipped by, the hours no longer measured in minutes but measured now in essays and spending time with George. I practiced when I could out on the pitch, to get myself ready for the tryouts. George joined me some days, Aideen stayed out there with me most days. Fred, I think, missed Quidditch a hell of a lot more then he wanted to admit, so he never came and I didn't blame him. George would give me pointers as I flew about how to turn if I was doing this or which way and how hard I should swing the bat.

George also talked Angelina into allowing the balls we used for the game out onto the field and (we did it very quickly) George showed me how to do the Bludger Backbeat, which, is every bloody bit as hard as _Quidditch Through the Ages_ says it is. I also learned the Dopplebeater Defence. George talked me and Aideen through it and we watched as it ripped through the giant straw figure I'd conjured up so the strength of the Dopplebeater Defence could be properly illustrated. That one would be fun to do with the other Beater if I got onto the team. I also (unintentionally) learned how to do a Sloth Grip Roll the day before tryouts when I just gripped my broomstick with my hands and my feet and rolled to avoid a bludger that otherwise would have hit me in the face. Aideen couldn't stop giggling at how I'd gotten back onto my broom, but let's just say that it wasn't my most graceful moment.

"So, how do you think our budding Quidditch player will do tomorrow?" Aideen asks George as we trudged through ankle deep snow back up to the castle.

"She'll be fine. Gwen's a decent flier and I would not want to be on the receiving end of her smacking a bludger."

"Talk about me like I'm not here why don'tcha?" I piped up as we made it to the stairs.

"Okay, we will if you really want us to." Aideen says. That was when I put my hand on Aideen's shoulder and playfully shoved her into the snow.

"OI!" Aideen yelled as she sat up in a semi-shallow snowbank.

"Sorry, I didn't _mean_ to do it." I said as George pulled Aideen out of the snowbank. If I had gone over there no doubt she woulda pulled me in after her.

"My rear end you did not." Aideen says.

~The Next Day~

"OK, Gwen, you're up next." Angelina says, looking very much like she'd love to go and hide under a rug for the next decade or so after seeing all those who had showed up for the tryouts.

"Yes, ma'am!" I semi-shouted, idiot saluting her.

The corner of her mouth twitched and she looked marginally happier. Apparently dating a funny prankster like George rubs off on ya.

I made my way down to the pitch, got one of the bats from Alicia and got on my broom and pushed off and rose until I was about fifteen or twenty feet off the ground.

"Release the bludger Alicia." Angelina says.

Alicia bends over and presses a button that releases the chains and the bludger shoots up before heading right for the crowd. I leaned forward a bit and the broom shot forward and doing a sharp turn I smacked the bludger as hard as I could and forced it to fly across the field and the bludger almost smacked into one of the towers spaced out around the pitch.

"Nicely done!" Alicia yells, clapping.

In my mind, I believed that I did well at the tryout. Alicia and I had to dig the bludger out of the pitch after I hit it (holding the bat with both hands) so hard that it flew into the ground. And by our estimations the bludger had gone down at least a foot. And my favorite part was where I took the one hand I was using to steer, put both hands on the bat and -- it was now my firm belief that bludgers learned the longer they were out -- I put myself upside down and smacked the bludger using the upside down version of the Bludger Backbeat.

"Okay! Thank you all for coming and I will have the list posted of those who made it on to the team in the common room tonight so you can see it tomorrow morning!" Angelina said, doing her best to be polite and calm sounding.

Because I was too lazy to walk through the snow I just decided to ride my broom up to the steps and...... then I landed on the top of the grand staircase. And I knew the last D.A. meeting before Christmas break was going to be pretty much right after tryouts, so I hurried up to the tower and just tossed my broomstick on my bed and changed out of the wet jeans I had on and I brushed my hair back into a ponytail and headed down to the Room of Requirement.


	31. Chapter 030

"Congratulations." Ginny said when I walked in the door.

"Huh?"

"You are one of the three new members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team." Angelina said.

"I made it?"

"Yeah, you were by far the best person at tryouts besides Ginny. It was a no-brainer." Angelina said.

"Yay!" I said, jumping up and down and clapping my hands. A bit childish I know, but I was still excited.

Everyone smiled and congratulated me too, even Harry. And that made me remember why Angelina had been forced to hold the tryouts in the first place.

"George, I made it!" I yelled when he, Fred and Aideen walked in. And I ran and jumped on him.

"See, I knew you would do fine." He said, giving me a kiss that turned into more then one little kiss.

"But let's see if she can match the legendary Weasley twins!" Fred said, conveniently interrupting me and George before we could go full scale and he started striking some strange poses that were supposed to look.... 'legendary' I guess. He may have looked stupid, but the effort was greatly appreciated.

After that Harry called things to order and decided that since this was the last meeting before we all scattered for Christmas break, that we would just go over and practice what we had all already learned.

And of course this did not sit well with his royal shit-ness, Zacharias Smith. My dislike for that boy had only grown since the first meeting in the Hog's Head. He decided to moan about us not learning anything new and if he hadn't of known that then he wouldn't have bothered to pull his head out of his ass for one day -- I mean, he wouldn't have bothered to come.

So, as usual, I partnered up with George and we practiced the Impediment Jinx. He was indeed getting better. With the two of us, we would count to three and see who could get the jinx out of their mouth and wand first and half the time George got to me first and vice versa. And for me, I guess, this was... I dunno, my way of fighting back, considering how incompetent I thought the Ministry was and how much I hated Umbridge.

"OK, everybody, you're all doing great and you've improved a lot over the past few weeks and when we get back from break, we'll learn new stuff- maybe even Patronuses."

Oh boy. Mine might actually scare some people.

"So, excited to go with us to the Burrow tomorrow?" George asks, coming up behind me and Aideen in the hallway as everybody slowly filtered out of the Room of Requirement.

"Of course I am." I said.

"Remember: You'll probably get the ninth degree from my mom, Aideen'll probably get it to." George says.

"Don't worry. I will answer your mom as honestly as I can, but with a healthy dollop of small, white lies and artfully avoiding certain questions she may ask."

"Be wary of her, she is a sneaky woman!" George says to me in some imitation of an old man's voice.

"You worry too much." I said.

"Ah, but you have not lived with our mum for the past seventeen years." Fred says.

"We'll be fine. You haven't been raised in a family of psychos for the past seventeen years." Aideen counters. "Being evasive in questions has been raised to an artform in my family."

We made it up to the tower and we were tired, so we all decided to pack it in early. I finished some last minute packing and then I climbed into bed, under the nice, toasty warm sheets.

~Next Morning~

"Aideen, get up." I said when I woke up the next morning.

"I'm up, I'm up." She mumbled.

I swung my legs out of bed and covered myself with my bathrobe (all I had on for pajamas were a tank top and a pair of shorts) and I went to go see if the boys were up.

And their beds are empty and their trunks are gone.

"What the hell?!" I yelled, apparently waking up another boy who shared the room with them.

I turned around and high-tailed it out of there and back into our room. "Aideen! They're gone!"

"What do you mean gone?" She yelled, jumping out of her bed.

"What's going on?" Angelina muttered, lifting her head up from her pillow.

"Sorry, Angelina." I said, grabbing Aideen's hand and dragging her out of there and into the boy's dormitory.

"See? They're both gone." I said, pointing to their empty beds.

"What happened?"

"Someone came for them in the early hours of this morning." The kid I had woken up said.

"Who?"

"McGonagall I think." He said.

"Then it's to McGonagall we go." Aideen and I went back to our dormitory to put on jeans over the bottoms of our nightclothes and a pair of shoes and we headed for McGonagall's office.

"Professor McGonagall? Professor, are you there?" Aideen said as I knocked.

"What can I help you two with so early in the morning?"

"Fred and George are gone and so are their trunks. I didn't check on Ron and Ginny, but their trunks and them are probably gone too." I spat out in a really fast stream of words.

"I know they are gone." McGonagall said, so calm that next to mine and Aideen's near state of panic, it would have seemed humorous if I were not ready to start freaking out.

"But... But... Huh?" Aideen started to speak, but we both said 'huh' at the same time.

"The Weasley children and Harry had to leave extremely early this morning."

"They left to go to the Burrow, without us? But me and Aideen were supposed to go with them to the Burrow for the whole of Christmas vacation. That's a whole three weeks, Professor."

"I am aware of how long Christmas break is, Miss Martin. And no, they are not all at the Burrow, and that is all I can tell you, I'm sorry and now please return to your dormitory, the two of you's names have already been added to the list of students who will be here for the break."

"Just like that you're dismissing the fact that me and Gwen are about to explode with worry because our boyfriends, not to mention their brother and sister and Harry, who we didn't know about until you told us, have gone somewhere else when we thought they were missing and potentially in some kind of trouble? Just like that you're going to not tell us a damn thing and say we're stuck here for the whole of break? They are coming back, aren't they?" Aideen said, seemingly out of breath after her little rant.

"Yes, just like that I am. And they will be coming back for school."


	32. Chapter 031

"Professor McGonagall, you can't honestly expect me and Aideen to sit around for three weeks, just wondering where our friends are?"

"No, but I expect you to listen to me when I tell you there is nothing more I can tell you." And with that, she shut her door, leaving me and Aideen standing there.

And believe you me when I say that neither of us was going to take this one lieing down.

"D'you think we could get someone to take letters to them?" Aideen asked as we wandered away from McGonagall's office.

"I'm trying to think of someone who would actually know where they are and would be willing to take Fred and George letters." I said, chewing on my thumbnail -- a life constant habit when I was thinking.

It came to me at the same time it came to Aideen.

"Dumbledore." We said at the same time as we turned toward each other.

"But let's get dressed first." I said, looking down at what I had on and what Aideen had on. Hardly appropriate attire when you're about to ask your headmaster if he knows where a lot of your friends have disappeared to and if you can carry letters if you know.

"Good idea." Aideen agreed.

We headed back up to the tower, ignoring the whistles and catcalls of some students. I did threaten to transfigure Malfoy back into a ferret when he grabbed Aideen's butt. He went quiiiiite pale and it gave me some morbid sense of pleasure to be causing Malfoy some fear and panic.

Once securely back in our dorm room (and amongst roommates doing some frantic last minute searching and packing) Aideen and I got into jeans and sweatshirts and put on sneakers. After helping Angelina and Cara look for shoes and other clothing items, Aideen and I set off for Dumbledore's office.

"What do you want?" One of the gargoyles asked as we walked up.

"Is Dumbledore in his office?"

"The headmaster is currently not in, try later."

"No trouble. We can wait." I said, conjuring up two comfortable chairs, a table, some parchment, quills and ink and envelopes.

"What are you doing?" The gargoyle on the right asked as Aideen and I seated ourselves.

"What does it look like?" Aideen asked, conjuring up candles and lighting them.

"I was wondering what I had forgotten." I said as I pulled a piece of parchment toward me and loaded a quill up with ink.

"You can't remember everything and besides, I like conjuring candles."

"It looks to me like you two are obstructing the hallway." The gargoyle on the left replied.

I looked up. "Oh, fine. _Wingardium Leviosa_!" I then proceeded to move the table forward a couple of inches so we weren't obscuring the hallway as much as the gargoyle's seemed to think we were.

"Nice job, Gwen, that should keep the moaners happy." Aideen said to me as she started to write her own letter.

"Well, aren't you two just a smart aleck-y pair." One gargoyle (wasn't paying attention to see if it was the left or right one) said in quite a sarcastic tone.

"We are indeed." I replied as I again loaded up my quill to scratch out another sentence to George.

It was a short letter, seeing as I didn't have very much to say to him. It went something in the vein of, 'what happened? are you okay? are you hurt at all, do you need help?' and stuff like that. It didn't take me long to write my letter and it didn't take Aideen long to write hers, either. So we just addressed them with the respective guy's name, magically sealed them and I wrote a letter to my aunt while Aideen started sketching the gargoyles out of sheer lack of anything better to do.

"Wanna play tic-tac-toe?" I queried after I had finished my letter.

"Sure." Aideen said. I quickly drew up a board on a scrap bit of parchment and we played I think more then fifteen games -- I had lost track some time ago so I couldn't be exactly sure.

Around lunch, I left Aideen and went to the kitchens and got us a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice and two goblets to drink out of. And we ate the sandwiches and drank the pumpkin juice, made solo trips to the bathroom when necessary so if Dumbledore came back when one of us was in the loo, at least one of us would be there, and we essentially did nothing for most of the day.

Dumbledore did not get back until mid-afternoon, reaching toward dusk. I was sprawled out in my chair, all but dozing. Aideen had fallen asleep a long time ago. I was drifting off to lala land when I heard a purposeful stride down the hall toward us.

"Aideen, wake up." I said, nudging her with my foot as I hastily sat up.

"Miss Martin, Miss Winters, what are you two doing camped out in front of my office?" Dumbledore asked as I vanished everything and Aideen hastily stood as her chair disappeared from under her.

"We needed to talk to you, sir." Aideen said, being very respectful.

"What about?" Dumbledore asked. "Fizzing Whizbee." The gargoyle started moving and he got on a step and Aideen and I got onto a lower one.

"About Fred and George, Professor." I said as we traveled upward.

"I assume you are referring to the fact that right now you are supposed to be at the Burrow with aforementioned gentlemen and their family and you are not."

"No. I woke up this morning to find them gone. Before everyone else had gotten up, they were gone and so were their trunks. Neither Fred or George would willingly get up early during break or the weekend. Are they okay? Is everybody in their family okay?"

"I assure you, the twins are quite alright. As are their siblings."

"Is something wrong with their mom or dad?" Aideen asked as Dumbledore opened his office door and allowed us in.

Dumbledore stroked Fawkes on the head before he turned and looked at me and Aideen long and hard with an appraising look. "Can I trust you two not to divulge this information to no one else?"

Aideen and I nodded mutely, wondering what could be so bad.

"Either late last night or very early this morning, Mr. Weasley was admitted to St. Mungo's and obviously, his children were woken up and taken to their father."

"But... there's more isn't there?" Aideen asks, fixing Dumbledore with a long and hard look of her own. "I mean, there has to be, otherwise Harry would still be here in the castle too." Aideen now had this really cute look of concentration on her face as she tried to figure out where Harry fit into the equation. I loved it when Aideen was perceptive, because that girl could pick up on so much other people could not.

"Indeed there is more to it, you are correct Miss Winters, but I cannot tell you what that 'more' part is. Suffice it to say that they will not be coming back until near the start of term. I'm sorry, I know how much you two were looking forward to spending Christmas with Fred and George --"

"It woulda been my first Christmas with a family that didn't ignore or try to kill each other." Aideen mutters under her breath.

"I am sorry you are being denied what you want, but that was just how, unfortunately, everything came to work out."

"Okay, Professor Dumbledore, I understand."

"I do too." Aideen said, a wee bit more sullen then my answer.

"I am sorry." Dumbledore said, noting how miserable we both probably looked.

"Um, Professor, do you think you can do me and Aideen a favor?" I asked in a tone more timid then I would have liked.

"Within reason." Dumbledore said.

"OK. Um, when me and Aideen were waiting for you to come back, we wrote notes to Fred and George. Are you going to go back to wherever they're staying with everybody before the end of break?"

"I believe that I am."

"Do you think you could deliver these notes for us? There's nothing bad in them, I promise, it's just that I don't really trust the regular routes of communication anymore, if you understand my meaning." I said, taking Aideen's note from her and placing both on Dumbledore's desk.

"Yes, I do understand and I promise that these will be delivered unopened to the one they were written to."

"Thank you, sir." I said; apparently I had become the spokesman for this meeting. I gently took Aideen by the elbow and gently I turned her around and walked her and myself out of Dumbledore's office. After that, I went up to the owlery so Belle could deliver my letter to my aunt and we went back to the common room. Not like there was anything else for us to do.


	33. Chapter 032

So that was pretty much how one week of the break passed for Aideen and I: doing jackshit.

We spent most of the week in the library and got all our homework done. Yeah, that was how bored we were. We were so bored we turned into Hermione 2.0. Not being mean, because I love the girl, but sometimes she relies on books a bit too much and is a touch too crazy about making the homework perfect.

Mid-way through the week, Belle came back with a reply letter from my aunt. Among the letter was her asking if I had heard about Arthur Weasley being admitted to St. Mungo's. And Aunt Joan said that she hoped, what with Mr. Weasley in the hosptial, that I wasn't giving Mrs. Weasley any grief -- fat chance of that one happening. I told her that I was being a good girl and not bothering Mrs. Weasley at all -- which was true, just not in the way my aunt would be thinking -- and I had heard about Mr. Weasley and just a bunch of other pointless crap that I don't remember.

Oh, McGonagall, I think, took pity on me and Aideen and allowed us on the first Friday of vacation to go into Hogsmeade for the day. It got us out of the castle at any rate. We had a quiet lunch in the Three Broomsticks and I re-stocked on my joke supplies at Zonko's. I even got Aideen to laugh when we were in Zonko's by showing her the chomper's I'd used on Mrs. Norris a few weeks previous. At the end we went to Honeydukes and bought some candy and brought that back to school and pigged out on that instead of eating dinner like a normal person would.

And at night I'd sit on the couch in front of the fireplace and I would stare at the flames and just not be able to sleep. It was nuts how fast I had become dependent (for lack of a better word) on George and how much influence he had over my emotions and moods. It was also nuts how much I missed him and wanted to be with him when we hadn't been dating for that long. These feelings I was feeling in regard to George kept me up much of the night pondering them and trying to figure out why I felt so strongly about George.

Of course, at the time it was like my brain refused to acknowledge the fact that I was obviously falling in love with George. Teenagers and their brains. We sure can be stubborn bastards when we want to be.

Christmas morning came and I woke up to a small pile of presents on the end of my bed. I had a present from Aideen, of course, from my aunt, Fred, George, Mrs. Weasley,and presents from other relatives who still remembered I was alive (You'd be surprised to know how many relatives thought I had died with my mother).

I tried to be happy because it was Christmas and you're pretty much supposed to be happy on Christmas. Mrs. Weasley's present was cool. She'd knitted me a sweater with red body and blue sleeves with the Gryffindor lion and Ravenclaw raven on the front and given me a box of almond blueberry cookies (that one was probably George telling her they were my favorite cookie), Aideen had gotten me _Quidditch Through the Ages_ , from Aunt Joan I received _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ (I always,  always lost my copy every year without fail), from Fred I got a book about famous Beaters of England, Ireland and the rest of Europe and a Skiving Snackbox variety pack (Puking Pastille, Nosebleed Nougat, Fever Fudge, Fainting Fancy), from George I received my very own beater's bat with a silver strip around the thinnest part of the bat that was engraved with my name and I got a silvery letter G pendant necklace. And from the relatives who knew/ remembered that I was alive, I got the usual: money.

Opening presents for me (god only knows how it was for Aideen) was a bittersweet moment. I mean, yeah, I got tons of beautiful and awesome presents, but I couldn't open presents with George and thank him for his beautiful gift of the necklace and bat.

Aideen and I went to the Christmas supper in the Great Hall a touch more cheered up then we had been for pretty much the entire week leading up to Christmas. But as the supper wound down, we kinda remembered that we still had a good stretch of vacation to go before seeing Fred and George again.

Aideen and I were leaving the Great Hall to go back to the common room after the supper had finished when we heard Dumbledore call out our names. We waited by the entrance to the Great Hall for Dumbledore to catch up and reach us.

"As I promised, I delivered the letters and here are the responses."

"Thanks, Professor." Aideen said, looking a lot happier then she had all day.

"Why don't you open them now?" Dumbledore said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Aideen and I looked at each other and traded twin shrugs of 'why the hell not?' I split open the wax seal on my note and unfolded the note. It was short, like mine had been. George assured me that he missed me as much as I missed him and he was fine, his dad was doing a bit better, and nothing was majorly wrong. Then I reached the bottom of the note and I wanted to shriek myself silly.

An excited squeak escaped Aideen, so I knew she had read something similar to what I had read. Apparently, we were allowed to spend the afternoon together in Diagon Alley with our respective boyfriends on the Monday after Christmas. And that was only a few days away! Professor McGonagall had agreed to escort us there and she'd be at the Leaky Cauldron promptly at six to pick us up. That was a bit of a bummer. But still! Me and Aideen would be able to spend an afternoon with Fred and George.

"Thank you, sir." I said. Aideen just kinda gaped at Dumbledore, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"Now that you have this good news, I assume you two will be much happier now?"

"Uh-huh." Aideen and I said at the same time.

"Well then, I do believe they are going to be serving an early supper in the Great Hall, would you two care to come down and join everybody?"

"Sure." Aideen said.

We walked down to the Great Hall with Dumbledore and we actually had fun. There were still some Wizard Crackers left over and I pulled one with some absolutely tetchy first year and it exploded with this very loud boom. And once the smoke had cleared (and there was so much of it), we were left with a Gobstones board and two full sets of pieces. I let the first year have it, because, in truth, I am terrible at Gobstones.

The food was very good, as it always was, and now that Aideen and I had something to look forward to, we enjoyed ourselves a lot more then we probably would have under previous circumstances.

The day we got to go to Diagon Alley could not have come soon enough. I was so excited the night before that I did not get much sleep, it was kinda like Christmas morning for a five year old. But when I woke up that morning, Aideen was already up and getting dressed.

We had been informed by Professor McGonagall the day before that we should dress in Muggle attire because for a bit we'd be in London. So I had on what a Muggle would wear in wintertime: Jeans, a t-shirt with a hooded sweatshirt over that, a winter coat, and boots.

We had breakfast in the Great Hall, a nice leisurely affair where Aideen and I went over the crossword puzzle in the _Daily Prophet_ and we managed to complete it. And we read the _Prophet_ from cover to cover, to waste time.

We met Professor McGonagall at the grand staircase, as agreed and the three of us left the school and started walking down the drive.

"Now remember, I will be at Leaky Cauldron promptly at six o'clock this evening to pick you girls up and bring you back to the school."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." We dutifully, if unenthusiastically, replied.

"Do you have gold on you?"

"Yes." We replied in tandem.

"And most importantly, you two have your wands."

"Right here." I said, holding open my jacket to show Professor McGonagall where I had put my wand as Aideen pulled her wand out of her pocket.

"Good." We walked out of the school gates and a few feet beyond the boar statues and turned on the spot and the three of us Apparated hundreds of miles from the wilds of Scotland to London. The three of us ended up in an alley across the street from the Leaky Cauldron and we quickly walked across and slipped inside the Leaky Cauldron.

It took a second for the three of us to adjust to the dimmer and smoky interior. But once we had, McGonagall sweeped the interior with her eyes and so did Aideen and I, but we did it for different reasons.

"This is where I leave you. Remember, six o'clock."

"Thank you, Professor." Aideen said.

"Your welcome."

Professor McGonagall left and Aideen and I walked farther into the Leaky Cauldron, our eyes searching the room for Fred and George.

"Are you looking for someone?" Tom asked from behind the bar.

"Uh, yes, have you seen a pair of twins, tall, thin, with red hair." I asked, describing Fred and George.

"Oh, you mean the Weasley twins? They're upstairs in room 3, it's a private parlor."

"Thank you." Aideen and I said as we went up the stairs.

Aideen suddenly got a mischievous look in her eyes and turned to me and put her fingers to her lips. She started tip-toeing along as best she could and I imitated her. We made it to Room 3 and Aideen knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Fred called out.

"Special delivery." Aideen called out in a higher voice then was normal for her.


	34. Chapter 033

"It's open." George called. Aideen turned the knob and opened the door just a little bit, the door squeaked as it opened about an inch.

"What the hell?" Fred said as (by the sound of it) both he and George got to their feet and crossed the room to the door. One of them grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open all the way just in time to be tackled to the floor by Aideen and I.

"What was that for?" Fred asked as we allowed the twins to sit up.

"Because I missed you!" Aideen said, hugging Fred.

"She's right. We missed you." I said.

"Believe me when I say the feeling's mutual." George says.

"And we are sorry that we kinda just left in the middle of the night, but... yeah." Fred says as we all stand up and Fred and George escorted Aideen and I to the table in front of the fireplace.

"No, we understand." I said. Aideen and I shed our coats and put them on the backs of the chairs we were sat in.

"So, since this will be the one day we get to spend with you, we decided to treat you girls to lunch." Fred explains.

"That's really sweet." Aideen says, leaning over to kiss Fred.

"And on that note, lunch is ready." George says, pulling covers off of two dishes while Fred got the others. And we had a rather yummy lunch of pea soup, ham and salad with raspberry flavored vinaigrette and strawberry trifle for dessert.

"My God that was so good and so filling." I said when we had all finished eating lunch. I put my knife and fork down and leaned back in the chair, massaging my slightly bloated belly.

"Glad you liked it." George said, rubbing his thumb in slow circles over mine.

"Oh God, I feel like I don't need to eat for the next three days." Aideen said.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?" George asked me, leaning over to do it.

"Yeah, sure. That would be great. Do you guys wanna come?"

"Nah, we're going to stay here where it's nice and warm. But have fun freezing your asses off." Fred says as me and George got our coats on.

"Oh we will." I said as I pulled on the gloves I had bought on the first Hogsmeade weekend.

"See you guys later." George said.

"So, are you ready to start working off that big lunch?" George asked me once we were in the back of the Leaky Cauldron, right in front of the gate that led to Diagon Alley.

"Of course I am." I said as George tapped on the bricks and the wall disappeared and the gateway appeared.

He took my hand and we started walking up the street together. It was cold, but it didn't seem so bad.

"Hey, you wanna see something?" George asked as we made our way up the twisty, winding street.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Ok, it's up this way." George led me up the street, the both of us dodging piles of slush as best we could.

Eventually we came to a stop in front of an empty store that had a flat over the store.

"So, what do you think?" George asked, gesturing to the store with a wave of his arm.

"It's very.... store-like?"

"No," George said, chuckling. "I mean it, what do you think?"

"I think it's an empty- you guys got premises!" It finally hit me why George was showing me an empty store. "That's fantastic!" I shouted as I threw my arms around George.

"Yeah, it's all set now. I present to you number ninety-three Diagon Alley."

"When do you guys move in?"

"We move in shortly after we leave Hogwarts and Fred and I are hoping we can open for business by the time all the Hogwarts students inundate Diagon Alley to buy their supplies for next year."

"How are they gonna get all the stuff past Filch? Because you know he'll put a ban on all your products."

"Bewitch them to look like potions for if you have a cough, women's beauty potions, uninteresting boring stuff like that that Filch would never in a million years think to check."

"Good idea. That is a very good idea. How did I get so lucky to get you as my boyfriend?"

"I think I should be asking you that question." George said, wrapping his arms tighter around me and pulling me as close as he could.

"Why?"

"Because you are the most awesome girl I have ever met is why." George says, touching his lips to mine.

We indulge in some PDA for awhile in front of the store before a chilly wind drove us into Flourish and Blotts. George and I climbed the stairs to the second floor of the shop and we walked amongst the stacks, George following me because I was looking for a book.

"Hey, Gwen, did you ever get our Christmas presents?" George asked as I found the book I wanted and pulled it off the shelf.

"Yes, I did. And the Skiving Snackbox will probably come in handy and tell your mum thank you for the sweater and the cookies -- did you tell her they were my favorite?"

"Yeah, I did." George said, smiling.

"And I would like to give you an extra-special thank you for the bat -- that one will _definitely_ come in handy in my first game. And I absolutely loved the necklace, thank you so much." I went up on my tip toes a bit to give George a peck on the lips.

"I'm glad you liked it." He said, looking very pleased with himself.

" 'liked it'? George, I love it. It's so simple, but so elegant. I'm wearing it today." I said, pulling it out from under my t-shirt to show him.


	35. Chapter 034

"Wow, I didn't know if you'd like it or not, to be honest with you." George said, his pointer finger coming up to gently brush the G.

"Why wouldn't I? I don't go for flashy. Unless I'm screwing around with somebody like the day I woke up to find you and Fred gone, I threatened to transfigure Malfoy back into a ferret and even flourished my wand a bit, but that was as flashy as I got. This necklace is perfect. There is nothing I would ever want to add and nothing I would ever want to change on this."

"I thought it might be a touch too simple, and you are hardly a simple woman."

"Don't worry. If it comes from you, I'm going to like it." I said.

A quick smile crossed George's face and he looked up from where he'd been touching the pendant. "That's why I love you." He said in such a quiet voice it was only a slight notch or two above a whisper. And then his face blanched as he realized what had just come out of his mouth as my stomach did a funny flipping and my heart started to going a mile a minute. Either that or it briefly stopped beating, I'm not entirely sure.

"Shit, I didn't mean to say that. I mean, not so soon anyway, not when we've only been going out for four months. I don't want to force you into it Gwen, make you say it before you're re-"

Then I did the first thing that popped into my head. I grabbed the back of George's neck with both hands and kissed him with passion and I carefully walked us backwards so we'd be behind one of the shelves and no one looking upstairs could see us.

And I lost track of time because time is just one of those things you do not keep track of when you are busy making out with your boyfriend in a book store, but I could guess that we spent a good ten minutes kissing on the second floor of Flourish and Blotts.

"Does that answer your question?" I whispered, my chest rising and falling quickly. Not that he had ever really had one, but he was kinda starting to panic.

"Yes." George says a little dumbly, slowly nodding his head up and down.

"Try not to look so surprised." I said, gently patting his cheek (an: face, not butt). I smiled and gave George another kiss, this time on the cheek, and I walked off. George caught up to me soon after I reached the register and payed for my book and the two of us walked out into the wintery afternoon.

After Flourish and Blotts, George and I headed up to Quality Quidditch Supplies, briefly stopping at Eyelop's so I could get some owl treats for Belle. But we spent the majority of our afternoon in Quality Quidditch Supplies. George educated me on all things Beater (more so then I already knew, because growing up in the wizarding world, Quidditch is pretty much in the blood). Like certain famous beaters and such. And we looked at the brooms, the wizard on duty up front let George do a test hover on a Firebolt, besides what happened in Flourish and Blotts, I think the test hover made his day.

But... as they say, all good things must come to an end. With heavy feet and slow steps, George and I headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. In the main room of the Leaky Cauldron we met up with Aideen and Fred, who had ventured outside after all, and we all sat at a table in the corner and had dinner together. Dinner itself was a nice, thick stew with decent chunks of meat floating around and plenty of vegetables floating around too, and delicious bread to wipe up what was left. And we had pumpkin juice to drink.

And true to her word, Professor McGonagall walked in at six o'clock. And that was when Aideen and I knew the afternoon was over.

"We'll be seeing you in about a week." Fred said as McGonagall politely looked the other way as we said our good-byes.

"I still say you let us kidnap you and drag you back to the castle." Aideen said.

"Unfortunately, our mum would hunt you down and the end wouldn't be pretty." George said to Aideen before he turned to me. "We'll be back before you know it, I promise."

"Then I await your arrival." I said.

"Looking forward to that." George said, bending down and pressing his lips to mine for a chaste kiss.

Which I would not be satisfied with, so I pressed back for another kiss and got one I was definitely satisfied with.

Aideen and I left George and Fred in the main area of the Leaky Cauldron and walked out into dusk with Professor McGonagall. Again, we turned on the spot and Apparated, appearing outside the castle gates.

In silence the three of us walked up the school's drive. I was pretty much bursting on the inside to tell Aideen about what had happened earlier, how right before I walked away George had whispered to me 'I love you' and I said it back to him and it didn't feel weird in the slightest. I couldn't wait to tell her, but I kept my mouth shut because it woulda been kinda weird spilling the beans around a teacher.

In the Entrance Hall, Aideen and I again thanked Professor McGonagall and then we went up to Gryffindor Tower. Aideen and I changed out of our cold and wet clothes (well, our pants at least) and into dry and comfortable ones and we hung our pants up to dry and put our shoes in front of the heater to dry too. We busted out some of the candy stash and sat on my bed to talk without having to worry about being overheard because we had the room to ourselves.

"So, you looked awfully happy when you and George came back into the Leaky Cauldron, what was that all about?"

"Well," I paused to toss a blueberry Bertie Bott's in my mouth. "George and I were talking about the necklace he gave me for Christmas in Flourish and Blotts and... well, he let it slip on accident, he didn't do it on purpose-"

"Just tell me all ready!"Aideen interrupted.

"George said 'I love you.'"

"He did not!" Aideen said. Wow. Did we ever sound like a pair of gossipy, overly girly high school students.

"He did. He almost started to panic when he'd said that, because he told me he hadn't meant to say it when we hadn't been going out that long. It was kinda cute actually. I mean, when he said those three words, my stomach kind of went all flippy on me and I think my heart may very well have stopped beating."

"So, you didn't mind George saying 'I love you' to you?"

"No. And in mid-panic for George, I grabbed him by the neck and kissed him and got us behind one of the stacks on the second floor. And then when we were leaving he whispered 'I love you' to me again and I whispered it back and it did not feel weird in the slightest."

"My God." Aideen said, leaning back against the headboard of my bed.

"I wasn't aware you had a god Aideen, but okay."

"Oh shut up. I'm serious. You found a guy, whom you're perfect for and vice versa, and it is clear you guys are in love, even before the declarations were made, and you met in the _Leaky fucking Cauldron_."

"So?"

"So? You have to admit, that is not the best place to meet someone."

"It doesn't matter. It's just kinda weird that I feel all these strong emotions for George and we have been going out for only four months."

"Stranger things have happened, yes? Don't question it, just go with it."


	36. Chapter 035

The last chunk of break was definitely a lot more bearable for both Aideen and I. We had more fun instead of just moping about the castle like a pair of old... mopers. The day after our afternoon with Fred and George, Aideen and I, along with a few other students spent a large part of the day out on the lake, ice skating. A bunch of us could dimly make out the shape of the giant squid swimming along with us under the ice. It was kinda cool, but kinda frightening at the same time. Because if that ice had broken under one of us and we had gone in the water, who knows what could have/ would have happened?

And entirely to Aideen's credit, about three days before the start of term, she organized a massive snowball fight by herself between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. The teams were slightly uneven, so Aideen and the captain of the Ravenclaw team, some sixth year boy divvied up the remaining Hufflepuff students who wanted to take part in the fight.

And let me tell you, Hannah Abbot throws a mean fast-snow-ball. She nailed Michael Corner in the face so hard he was knocked on his back, fell over like a board. You'd never think it of her, because she's so small and innocent looking, but I would not want to be on the receiving end of her throwing something.

Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione arrived the day before term was to start. Aideen and I had finished an extremely late breakfast and were in the Entrance Hall, about to leave the castle and walk around the lake.

We actually made it down the steps and we're about to head off in the direction of the lake when we saw a group of people walking up the drive. Most of them, dragging trunks behind them.

"Is that-?" Aideen said, trailing off.

"I'm not sure." I replied. We walked a bit closer and waited for the group moving up the drive to come into better focus.

"Gwen?"

"George?"

"In the flesh." He yelled.

Aideen and I bolted down the drive. Fred and George met us halfway, abandoning their trunks in the snow. I just plain old jumped on George, wrapping my legs around his waist and hugging him tightly.

"Glad to see I was missed." He said in a pseudo-serious manner

"Of course you were." I said.

"Long time no see, Gwen, Aideen." Tonks said once everybody had caught up to us.

"Hey, Tonks, Professor Lupin."

"Hello, Gwen and Aideen." Professor Lupin said. They saw us (well, I suppose everyone minus Aideen and myself) inside the castle and the pair of them went to Dumbledore's office and we went up to Gryffindor Tower.

"So, where were you two headed when we arrived?" Fred asked us later in their room as we helped them unpack.

"Just for a walk around the lake." Aideen replied.

"Isn't you know, cold out?" George said, his tone suggesting that Aideen and I were a few screws loose.

"Well, yeah, but we didn't exactly have anything better to do so we decided to walk around the lake."

~Later~

The 'spring' term was now in session and shortly after it had started up again, Angelina had let everybody know the date of the first practice for the new Gryffindor team.

The first practice was.... interesting. I think we were all on edge because we were all still feeling each other out and were still unsure of this or that about each other.

Well, by the end of practice I'm pretty sure Katie wanted to take Sloper's bat and use it on him, not a bludger.

Angelina tried to be fair and encouraging to everybody, but it was kinda hard when Ron was still missing Quaffle shots that were easy as pie to keep from going in the goal, and I got the bludgers Sloper was meant to have hit more then once.

"Okay, team, good practice, same time next week." Angelina said.

"Soooooo, how did it go?" Aideen asked when I had gotten back up to the common room.

"Not good. But not terrible, either." I said, sitting down.

The weeks flew by, what with classes and the teachers increasing the homework load because our exams were now that much closer, D.A. meetings, Quidditch practice and spending whatever spare time remained with Fred, George and Aideen or just George.

We celebrated Aideen's birthday in February. The week before her birthday there had been a Hogsmeade weekend, so Fred took her out to lunch while George and I ran all over Hogsmeade looking for birthday presents. Being silly, I got her a pair of socks that started shrieking if they got too dirty, and an Irish International hat (they were her favorite Quidditch team), and a little red quill that could be bewitched to show her name on the feather. George got her a box of Sugar Quills and Cockroach Cluster -- we were totally being complete idiots with the presents, but Aideen doesn't mind as she is so silly a person herself. And, we bought her a book we found in a second hand book shop about Metamorhpagi (I think that's the terminology for Metamorphagus in plural).

But, before I knew it, our first game as a team with new members had come up on us. I have to admit, Sloper had gotten better in the weeks of practice, but that is the point of practice I suppose.

At breakfast the morning of the match, I could hardly eat a thing. I think I had maybe a couple spoonfuls of cereal, a piece of bacon, and two forkfuls of scrambled egg. I was too nervous to eat, despite George's and Aideen's and Fred's best efforts to soothe my nerves.

And with a nod from Angelina, the seven of us rose from the table and headed down to the Quidditch pitch. As we all got into our playing robes, we heard the thunder of student's feet as they passed by the changing rooms to get their seats. After I had gotten dressed, I picked up my bat and started to gently smack it into the palm of my opposing hand, out of nerves.

"OK team, listen up!" Angelina yelled as we were all changing into the uniforms.

"I know this is our first performance with our new players, so good luck to you three," Angelina said, nodding at me, Ginny, and Sloper. "And to the rest of you, remember: we can do this. I know this team is still getting used to the shake-up in the line-up, but we mustn't let it rattle our confidence and throw off our concentration because that is what the Slytherins want, it's what certain mean people in this school want. I just want you six to get out there on that pitch and play as hard as you can; and if the Slytherins play dirty, you play dirty right back. Just don't let Madam Hooch see what you're doing."

I almost laughed at that, but I manage to figuratively bite my tongue and not laugh because Angelina was being dead serious.

"Let's get out there and play." Angelina said, picking her broom up and shouldering it.

Doing the same or similar, the rest of us trooped out after Angelina.

"And now, ladies and gentleman please turn your attention to the southwest corner as I present to you, playing together for the first time, the new line-up for Gryffindor! Johnson, Bell, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, Martin, and Sloper!" Lee's voice boomed from the magical microphone, trying to encourage the Gryffindor supporters to support us.

It worked. As we flew out onto the pitch, I heard what for a second sounded like thunder coming from three-quarters of the crowd. I could just make out George, Harry, Fred, Aideen, Hermione and a bunch of other Gryffindors holding up huge banners with the Gryffindor lion and the House symbol on them.

"Now, I want a nice, clean game played and it goes for all of you!" Madam Hooch may have been talking to all fourteen of us, but she was looking at the Slytherin Quidditch team when she said it.

Because she knew, all of us knew, if anyone was gonna play dirty, it was the Slytherins.

Ron and the Slytherin Keeper flew off to the goal posts and the Bludgers and Snitch were released. And with a simple throw of the Quaffle, the game was on.

A bludger came flying at my face almost the minute after I had started flying and I smacked it as hard as I could and on luck I got Crabbe in the back of the head and his face met his broomstick handle. From what I could see as Madam Pomfrey blew the whistle and got Crabbe to the ground, there was blood all over the place.

"And Beater Crabbe is forced to leave the game two minutes in with a _really_ broken nose, courtesy of Gryffindor Beater Martin; nice work Gwen!" Lee said as the Gryffindors roared their approval and the Slytherin support booed their throats out at me.

"That's right, you boo because your Beater sucks!" I said under my breath as Madam Hooch came up to our level, blowing on her whistle.

Thirty minutes in, Gryffindor had scored five goals and Slytherin two. Poor Sloper had been knocked off his broom by a Bludger courtesy of Goyle; Sloper could barely breathe as he got escorted off the pitch.

"You doing okay?" I shouted at Ron as I smacked a bludger at one of the Slytherin Chasers, thereby causing them to drop the Quaffle (which Angelina was there to catch).

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ron yelled back.

One hour after that, Gryffindor was up 90 points giving us 140 points total. Slytherin was trailing behind with only sixty points; we were playing well together and it was showing.

I was back by Ron, smacking away another bludger and making sure he was okay (poor kid was looking so green in the face, the Slytherins weren't helping, singing 'Weasley Is Our King' and all).

"OI, YOU THAT'S CHEATING!" Lee shouted as the Gyrffindor supporters roared with anger.

Malfoy had intentionally run into Ginny and nearly knocked her off her broom. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Gryffindor was awarded a penalty shot at the Slytherin end. Angelina took it and scored, the score was raised to 150.

"You okay?" I yelled as I flew up the pitch after a bludger to knock at Malfoy.

"Yeah." Ginny yelled back. I smacked the bludger with both hands on the little bat at Malfoy; he dodged it sadly but he had to do this weird little pirouet and roll in the air to avoid the Bludger.

Three hours later and we were all getting tired. We'd been playing for four and a half hours straight; Gryffindor didn't have any reserve players because the talent wasn't that great at the tryouts.

I was busy deflecting a bludger Goyle had tried to hit me with, so I didn't see it happen but all of a sudden I heard Lee and the crowd scream Ginny's name and I whipped around. Over a hundred and fifty feet up Ginny had been knocked off her broom by one of the Slytherin Chasers and she was screaming and free falling.

"Catch!" I said, throwing my bat to Katie and taking off, not bothering to look to see if she had caught it. Angelina, Alicia and Ron were also speeding toward Ginny, but their brooms were slower. I pretty much laid myself flat on my broom and shot up like a bullet.


	37. Chapter 036

"Faster, faster, go faster!" I urged my broom on. Ginny was getting closer now, she was almost in arm's reach. In one swift motion I gripped my broom with one hand and launched myself off and grabbed the back of Ginny's playing robes with the other hand.

"What happened?" I asked as we dangled in mid-air. Roughly 130 feet off the ground.

"That fucking bastard knocked me off my broom!" Ginny said, sounding a tad shell-shocked and furious in one turn.

And I saw Goyle raise his bat and knock a bludger right at us.

"Ginny, do you trust me?" I asked as everyone raced against the wind toward us and the bludger came flying right at us, getting bigger every second.

"Yeah."

"Good." I said.

Then I let go of my broom. The wind that was blowing in addition to the weight my broom had been holding up made it float up and the bludger missed it.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Ginny screamed at me for all she was worth.

"NO!" I shouted back. I shook my arm and my wand slid into my hand and I pointed it at the ground.

" _Cushionius!_ " A jet of vibrant blue shot out of my wand and hit the ground and produced a gigantic cushion. Ginny and I fell onto the giant cushion and it was like landing on a bouncy play-thing.

"Holy fuck," Ginny whispered as we slowly stopped bouncing.

"That was actually rather fun." I said, struggling to sit up as the cushion seemed to be attempting to swallow us.

"Again, are you out of your mind?" Ginny asked me as we rolled off the cushion to the grass.

"What do you think?"

"You seem to find one of my brother's attractive, so it's quite possible." Ginny says, straightening out her playing robes as McGonagall comes running over, followed by George, Fred, Aideen, Hermione, Harry and the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Miss Martin, Miss Weasley, are you two alright?" McGonagall asked, slightly out of breath, as I get double-teamed by Aideen and George. And Fred, Harry, Ron double-team Ginny.

"Ron, I'm not going to die, you can stop strangling me now!" Ginny half-yells.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said as Aideen let go of me and George wouldn't let go, he just put his arm around my waist and stood next to me.

"I'll be fine once somebody let's go of my neck." Ginny says waspishly, pointedly looking at Ron.

"I think you're going to be needing this to play." Angelina said, floating down to us with my broom in her hand. "I got it before it could make friends with the Whomping Willow." I barely repressed a shudder as I thought about what would have happened to my broom if it had met the snapping branches.

"And I think that you could do more good with this then me." Katie said, handing over my bat.

"Alright everybody, lets get off the field and let the game continue." McGonagall said, ushering Aideen, Fred, George and Harry into the closest tower.

"Thanks for getting my broom and bat, you guys.." I said. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and I got focused. Within five minutes I had taken Goyle out with a bludger to the head and from that point on, the Slytherin Quidditch team were sitting ducks and they knew it. Fifteen minutes after that Montague was gone with a twin bludger attack. I just got lucky that the bludger I hit collided with the other and the force of the one I'd hit was so great it sent both of them flying into Montague's stomach. And less then one minute after that I got that idiotic Miles Bletchley, much to Alicia's delight. Not only because that meant the goal was open for the Gryffindor's but because of the Hair-Thickening Charm incident in the library before the first game of the season.

"Beater Martin seems even more intent on wiping out the Slytherin Quidditch team since that idiot Goyle intentionally endangered her life and Seeker Weasley's, all I can really say here is... GO FOR IT GWEN! WE'RE ALL BEHIND YOU!" Lee shouted, dancing out of Professor Sprout's arm range.

The Slytherin's booed at him and the Gryffindor's just shouted me on. George and Fred and Aideen were loudest, I could hear them screaming themselves hoarse over the rest of the crowd. At one point I could hear the crowd screaming (with George and Aideen conducting them) "One woman team killing machine." I give points for creativity and getting a good few hundred teenagers to say that in time with each other.

"And Ginny's captured the Snitch, right under Malfoy's nose! Gryffindor wins! Three hundred points to sixty!" Lee crowed triumphantly into the microphone. Ginny and I flashed twin beaming grins; she'd gotten the Snitch from right under Malfoy's nose and I'd taken out half of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"The Slytherin's are really gonna hate us now." Angelina said as we all landed.

"And you can't say we played dirty either!" I said as we walked into the changing rooms.

"I did." Alicia admitted.

"What did you do?" I asked as we got our regular robes back on.

"When nobody was looking; they were all focused on you and Ginny falling, Warrington tried to knock me off my broom."

"What did you do to him?" Ginny asks.

"Kicked him in the face and pushed him off before he could do it to me."

"Good girl, I knew there was a dirty player under all that goodness!" Katie said, clapping Alicia on the back.

"No, seriously, you all did good. Go get some rest the lot of you." Angelina said.

"What about you?" Ron asked.

"I'm going to check on Sloper first, make sure the kid's okay." Angelina said.

"We'll all come." I said, everyone else nodded.

George, Aideen, Fred, Harry and Hermione came running up as we emerged from the changing rooms.

"You were amazing!" George said hoarsely as he enveloped me in a huge hug.

"Are you and Ginny okay?" Aideen asked

"Yeah, we're both fine. We were just going to go check on Sloper."

"We'll come with you." Fred says.

We all headed up to the school and thereby the Hospital Wing to see how Sloper was doing.

He was okay, just really winded and his stomach hurt a bit, but Madam Pomfrey had given him some chocolate so he was feeling better.

And, after visiting Sloper, we all decided to head back up to the common room, but Fred and I had to pee, so we told everyone to go on ahead and we'd be up there shortly. We went into the boys and girls bathrooms on the third floor and when I came out, Fred was leaning on the wall opposite the bathrooms, waiting for me I guessed.

"You know, girls take an awful long time to pee." Fred said.

"I'm sorry. We can't all whip it out, pee, shake it off and tuck it back in like you can." I said as we headed for the stairs. "You did wash your hands, didn't you?"


	38. Chapter 037

"Of course I did." Fred replied. "What do you think I am, an uncouth he-man?"

"No, of course not."

"So." Fred said in a way that led me to think there was a lot more to be said.

"So, what?"

"George and I are thinking of pulling something."

"Pulling something, how?"

"Well, we figured that we'd be all quiet on the trouble-making, mayhem-causing, tomfoolery-producing front during Easter, but pull something once term had started again."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"George and I invented this thing. It's called a Portable Swamp and if you set it off it will literally turn part of the, say, hallway here into a veritable swamp where you'd need a raft to get across.

"Nice!" I exclaimed.

"And we-"

Fred and I had made it to the hallway where the Room of Requirement was when we ran into three people we rather would have liked to not see.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were coming down the hallway to us. And they did not look happy to see us either.

"Christ." Fred muttered under his breath.

"Well, look, if it isn't the blood traitors."

"Oh, piss off Malfoy." I said, shoulderchecking Malfoy as I walked between him and Crabbe.

"Just answer me one thing." Malfoy said after Fred had joined me and we started walking away from the trio of useless sperm.

"What?" I said as I still kept going.

"How does it feel to be on the same side as a bunch of worthless losers like that one's family?" Malfoy clearly had indicated Fred, though I hadn't seen it. Fred and I whipped around and Fred furiously made for Malfoy. I got my arm between his arm and side and curled my arm up over the front of his chest and onto his back and I started dragging him back as best I could, given that there was only one of me.

"Hey, Malfoy," I said, panting a bit as I struggled to keep Fred away from Malfoy. "How does it feel to know that your dad got his ass kicked by a house elf? Who had belonged to him and that the house elf kicked his ass when he was protecting Harry from your dad?" I had overheard voices in the Slytherin common room in my third year after working hard on an astronomy essay I had fallen asleep on the couch. These voices were high, kinda shrill voices talking about how a house elf had attacked a Wizard who had attempted to attack Harry Potter. I had never equated the voices with those of house elves, and I thought they had been in my dreams -- until this year when I had met the house elves in the school kitchens.

Fred had stopped struggling while I had said my piece and Crabbe and Goyle just looked as they normally did: confused. Malfoy, on the other hand looked like he had been slapped in the face with a cast iron skillet. Oh yeah, I know how to go for the low blow.

"Come on, let's go." I said to Fred. We had only gone a few feet when I heard this odd rushing sound. I whipped around to see a curse flying for me and my eyes had become so focused on that curse, that at first when a dark shadow came into my line of vision, I was really confused as to what it was. Then I realized it was Fred when he came flying back into me, sending us both to the floor.

"Fred! Fred!" I yelled, he was unconcious. I had my wand out before Malfoy, Crabbe or Goyle could do anything. " _Expelliarmus!_ " I yelled. Their wands were ripped out of their hands and came flying into my hand.

" _Incarcerous!_ " Then the three of them were bound together with the rope that came flying out of the tip of my wand. With one of the three's wands I magicked up a stretched and gently and carefully got Fred onto it.

"You there!" I said to a fourth year, who looked a bit confused by the whole situation.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Take this wand and take this guy up to the Hospital Wing. Tell Madam Pomfrey it's Fred Weasley and he's been cursed, but I don't know which one was used. Can you do that?"

"Y-yeah, sure." She said, taking the wand and walking away with Fred.

"Now for you three. Whatever shall I do to you three?"

Crabbe still looked confused. Goyle looked to Malfoy and Malfoy looked like he wanted to pee his pants. But I knew I couldn't magickally do anything to them -- I would get into just as much trouble as they were going to get into. So I settled for roughly dragging them along behind me as I went to McGonagall's office.

"Professor McGonagall?" I called out, knocking on her door.

"Enter." McGonagall called out. I opened her door and walked in and she looked up. "Miss Martin, are you all right?"

"Uh, no, I'm pretty sure I'm not." I said.

"What happened to you?"

"Me and Fred were walking up to Gryffindor Tower after seeing how Sloper was doing in the Hospital Wing and we ran into Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy said something not so nice to me and I said something not so nice to Malfoy and I was walking away when I heard a rushing sound and I turned around to see a curse coming for me."

"You were cursed?" McGonagall said, looking alarmed.

"No. Fred jumped in front of me and took the full brunt of the curse. I got some fourth year to take him up to the Hospital Wing. And I apprehended the three of them. These are two of their wands," I said, stepping forward and putting the wands on her desk. "The third is in the Hospital Wing."

"Miss Martin, where are Misters Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Outside. They're being difficult, they don't like being tied together." I said. I yanked on my wand and Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came flying into McGonagall's office door. I then did a 'gentler' tug and they came into her office.

"Professor, can I go now?"

"What? Oh, yes, yes, of course." I released the rope from my wand, but I didn't untie them and I bolted from McGonagall's office and ran for Gryffindor Tower.

"Gwen, where have you been? Where's Fred?" George said, him and Aideen half-rising from their chairs after I had run in, winded from running up multiple flights of stairs and down a hallway.

"Malfoy- tried to- tried to curse me and Fred jumped in the way and he's in the Hospital Wing." George's eyes widened until I thought they were going to pop out of his head and Aideen's face lost all color. "Come on!" George and Aideen got out of their chairs and the three of us ran out of the common room.


	39. Chapter 038

By the time we got to the Hospital Wing -- after having to go the long way around twice because of the damn moving staircases -- Aideen and George were winded and I was about to fall over and pass out from running up to and from the common room, all in the space of a few minutes.

"How is my brother?" George asked.

"He's sleeping." Madam Pomfrey said.

"Can I see him?" George asked.

"I just revived him to give him a potion to help with whatever cursed him and then a sleeping potion, he won't- oh, very well." Madam Pomfrey said, caving. She led us over to a bed that was surrounded by a curtain and pulled it back. Madam Pomfrey conjured up stools for us and we sat around Fred's sleeping form.

"What happened?" Aideen whispered.

I took a deep breath, to get my breathing more under control. "We were walking back up to the tower and Fred was telling me about the Portable Swamp and yours and his plans for it," I said, nodding toward Geroge and he briefly smiled. "And we were in the hallway where the Room of Requirement was, when we saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle heading toward us."

"Oh that had to have been fun." George said sarcastically.

"Not really. Malfoy was rude, asking me something like 'how does it feel to be on the same side as a bunch of losers' or some shit like that, I had to work at dragging Fred backward, which is a really hard task by the way by yourself, and I asked Malfoy how does it feel to know his dad got his ass kicked by a house elf --"

"When did this happen?" Aideen interrupted.

"Our third year. I had fallen asleep on the couch in the Slytherin common room after working on an essay for Astronomy and I thought at the time I was dreaming this, so that's why I never said that until now, but I heard two squeaky, high voices talking about how a house elf had attacked a Wizard that was trying to attack Harry Potter."

"That is a low blow." George says, unable to stop a quiet chuckle from escaping him.

"Oh, believe me, I know how to give a low blow if I have to."

"So, what happened next?" George asked, his mood sobering quickly.

"Fred had stopped fighting me during the low blow I delivered and we started to walk away when I heard a rushing noise. I turned around to see a curse rushing toward me and I just... I just froze. I couldn't move, my feet were frozen in place. And then I see a dark shadow come into my line of sight and Fred jumped in the way of the curse and took it full force. I have no idea what it did to him." I finished my re-telling, looking at Fred's face, so unnaturally white.

"How long do you think before Madam Pomfrey comes and kicks us out? Because I for one do not plan on leaving voluntarily." Aideen says, totally focused upon Fred.

"No idea." George said, looking worriedly at his brother.

I leaned over and put my head on his shoulder. I felt George twist and look at me, planting a kiss on my head before leaning his head on top of mine.

The three of us kept up a sort of vigil by Fred's bed until Madam Pomfrey came in and told us we had to go.

"Has my mum been told?"

"Yes. Both she and your father are on their way up here as we speak."

"Me and Aideen'll leave, you know, family time and stuff like that." I said, rising from my stool. George grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto his lap.

"You are like family if my mom sends you a sweater for Christmas. You stay, Aideen too."

Madam Pomfrey figured out there was likely to be no way she'd remove us from the Hospital Wing, so she just tutted and went back to her office. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came in a few minutes later and Aideen gave up her stool for Mrs. Weasley and again I had to relate what happened.

And I think, for me, the worst part was when, after she'd fussed over Fred, she started fussing over me. Tutting like Madam Pomfrey, she fussed with my hair (which was probably more then a little messed up), felt my forehead, asked if I was okay, should she get Madam Pomfrey to get me some chocolate (I was okay, no thank you to the chocolate).

That one felt kinda weird, but kinda cool at the same time. Because, I mean, my Aunt Joan felt up my forehead and stuff when I was little or when I was sick, but it wasn't in a motherly way, really. I could barely remember my forehead being felt the way a mom would do it. I just smiled and let Mrs. Weasley do it. In part because I had heard the stories about her told by her children, and I just knew if I protested she'd do it on a grander scale.

Before dinner word had spread that Malfoy had tried to curse me, but Fred had jumped in the way and was now lying unconcious in the Hospital Wing. And that McGonagall had reamed Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle to the stars and back and torn them a new one in the process, and Snape had yelled at them, and they had detention with McGonagall until the end of the year and each had lost 75 points apiece. That's 225 points, incase any of you were wondering. And to me, the piece de resistance of their punishment was they were suspended for the rest of the year from Quidditch (and for the record, it wasn't McGonagall who had suspended them: it was Snape). I mean, besides hearing how McGonagall had torn them all a new one, that one just made me smile and clap my hands out of joy.

Even Harry and George, who had been banned for life (supposedly), couldn't help smiling at that news.

Fred didn't wake up until two days later. Aideen told him the story and I guess he laughed so hard he fell out of his bed and Madam Pomfrey kicked Aideen out after that.

But, Aideen only got kicked out for a day. The next day I went to visit Fred, to see how he was doing.

"Hey, how are you?" Fred asked when I walked in.

"How am I? How am I? You're the one who's been unconcious for three days and you're asking me how I am?" I said as I took a seat on the side of his bed.

"Yup. Pretty much." Fred said.

"I'm okay, I guess. I didn't get hurt, you took the full punch of the curse. I really like your mum, by the way."

"My parents were here?"

"Yeah. They were here the first day and Madam Pomfrey said she'd send notification to them when you woke up. You should have seen your mum, Fred. After she'd fussed over you, she started fussing over me. She was trying to fix my hair, she felt my forehead, asked if I was okay and if I needed chocolate, it was kinda nice."

"You can't really remember your mum, can you?"

"I can remember what she looks like, especially if I'm looking at a photo of her. But the actual physical stuff, like feeling my forehead for temperature if I was sick? No, I can barely remember my mom doing that."

"Come here, somebody needs a hug." Fred said in this over-the-top, silly voice, holding his arms open.

"Oh cork it." I said, leaning forward and accepting the hug anyway.

"You're not the boss of me." Fred said quietly.

So we just sat like that, him hugging me because of how down I had gotten over pretty much forgetting my mum. Neither of us heard the footsteps. But we did hear the paper sack hitting the floor. I whipped around to see George, his eyes wide the look on his face stricken.

"Geor-"

"Save it. I don't want to hear it." He said in a strangled voice before bolting.

"George! George!" I yelled, standing.


	40. Chapter 039

"Oh this is bad." Fred said as Madam Pomfrey came out of her office to investigate the source of the commotion.

"Ya think?" I said, not bothering to withhold the sarcasm from my voice.

"What is going on?" Madam Pomfrey asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Don't worry Madam Pomfrey, it's nothing for you to be worried about." Fred said.

She cocked an eyebrow as if she thought the opposite, but she did not say a word and back into her office she went. But she probably left her door open this time because I didn't hear it close.

"What the hell are we going to do? George clearly thinks I'm cheating on him with you, which is obviously not the case and he's probably going to tell Aideen -- and believe me that is wicked bad." I was already pacing by Fred's bed, one of my hands buried in my hair.

"Why is that bad? I mean, besides her getting the wrong idea about us two."

"Because when she is mad, she can do a really nasty Jelly-Legs Jinx. And I don't know if it's her power, but that sucker can last for a couple of days. The counter-jinx definitely doesn't work on it. Oh Christ Almighty, what are we going to do?"

"We are going to have to explain to him what happened and hope he believes us. And you're going to have to do it on your own, I can't get out of this bed and it is wicked unlikely that Madam Pomfrey is going to let me leave."

"You've got that right." Madam Pomfrey called from her office.

"Go now before it gets any worse then it's already gotten." Fred urges.

"Right. Right." I made for the door, stumbling over the bag that George had dropped.

"You alright?" Fred asks.

"Yeah. I just tripped over the bag that George had with him." I picked up the bag and threw it Fred. "I'm guessing whatever's inside is for you." Then I left the Hospital Wing to go to Gryffindor Tower. This was going to suck. Big time.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked me when I stopped in front of her portrait.

" _Fortuna Major_." I said.

She nodded and swung forward to admit me and I climbed up and in. George was sitting in a chair by the fire when I walked in to the common room.

"We need to talk." I said to George.

"There is nothing to talk about." He said. "I know what I saw."

"Then you saw jackshit!" I said loudly. Maybe a little too loudly because I became aware of the eyes of everyone in the common room on us.

George pushed himself off his chair aggressively to face me. "I'll tell you what I saw. I saw you and my brother looking awfully damn cozy! How long?"

"How long what?" I asked, not liking where I thought this was going.

"How long have you and my brother been doing this under my nose? Under Aideen's?"

"You are out of your goddamn mind if you think I would cheat on you, George. With your own brother no less! Fred was giving me a _hug_ because I was sad because we were talking about my mum and how I could barely remember my own mother!" I totally full-on yelled that one in his face. The common room was so silent by this point that you could have heard a pin drop on the carpeting.

"I- I had no idea." George says, his voice on a more level tone, the anger fading from him fast.

"That's right, you fucking didn't." I turned on my heel, my robe flaring out from behind me and I stormed out of the common room, slamming the portrait door so hard the Fat Lady started to yell at me. I just ignored her and walked down several flights of stairs and out the doors of the school and onto the grounds. I was too pissed off to be concerned about where I was going. Thought it was no great surprise to me to discover I had walked to 'our' tree -- the one George and I had claimed as our own that was about as far as you could get from the school, on the opposite side of the lake.

I sat down in the shadow of the trunk and drew my knees up to my chest. The sun was already halfway through setting when I had sat down. It had set by the time I put my forehead to my knees and started crying. And while I was crying, it started to rain. Lightly at first, but it quickly got very heavy. The leafage on the tree had not yet grown back enough to protect me from the rain and I was soon drenched. I just sat there, no will to move, not really. I had my chin on my knees and I stared straight ahead, re-playing my life falling appart in my head over and over. Then it slowly morphed it into images of my mother saying something to me, but I couldn't hear her words, her mouth opened and closed in the shape of words, but no sound came out. Then it morphed into images of Aideen, Fred, and George, Aideen standing between the two of them. And then, right as Aideen opened her mouth to say something to me, a great booming bark (like a dog) came out instead of words. Several more barks came, each coming out of Fred's, George's or Aideen's mouths. And then I was getting the shit licked out of me by something heavy, hot, wet and panting.

"Back, Fang! Back off the poor girl!" I heard a deep rough voice this time.

"Merlin's beard." The voice said again. All of a sudden I felt myself wrapped in something warm and heavy that smelled like leather and dog biscuits and I was being lifted and someone was running, I was too.

"I foun' her. Clean on the other side o' the lake." The deep rough voice told someone. This was a really weird dream. "She was almos' passed ou' on 'er side. Fang picked up 'er scent."

"Good Hagrid. Thank you for finding her. Let's get her up to Madam Pomfrey now." This new voice was softer, it had more of a smooth cadence to it.

This definitely was some freaking weird kind of dream.


	41. Chapter 040

"Welcome back, Miss Martin." Madam Pomfrey said to me.

"What-" At this point I started coughing and I struggled to sit up, because that seemed to me to be the thing to do, to help my breathing. Madam Pomfrey helped me sit up and helped me sip water from a cup.

"What- What happened?"

"Well, as far as I can tell, you fell asleep during the pounding rainstorm and compound the rain with the falling temperature, and you are sick my dear. Now, drink this." Madam Pomfrey handed me a cup that contained a slightly smoking potion.

"What is this?" I said in a voice that was way croaky then my normal voice.

"Pepper-Up Potion. It'll help with the cold you got. And after you've gotten that down you, I have a potion to combat your fever. And then we'll see if you can eat anything." I took a gulp of the Pepper-Up Potion and after I choked it down, I immediately started another coughing fit. That stuff burns A LOT. Madam Pomfrey stood over me, holding the next potion I absolutely had to take, so I choked down the rest of the Pepper-Up Potion, with a couple sips of water inbetween. Man, my face was so red after taking that. Then I took the second potion, that was supposed to combat my fever, that one tasted and felt like congealed fish oil sliding down my throat.

"Now try some stew." Madam Pomfrey came over carrying a bowl on a tray. The bowl contained a beef stew with carrots, onion, celery, and chunks of potatoes. I was busy trying to eat at least a bit of the stew, it would probably be less then what Madam Pomfrey would have liked, but hey, I knew my body's limits. As I said, I was spooning some stew down my throat, when the door to the Hospital Wing opened.

"No visitor- Oh, I'm sorry." Madam Pomfrey was totally ready to kick this person out, but saw it was my aunt and immediately stopped.

"How come you're here?" I croaked to my aunt.

"Well, when you were missing, I got an owl from Dumbledore. They searched the whole castle, got the ghosts to help, Dumbledore went down to Hagrid's with a t-shirt of yours for Fang to follow the scent. Aideen and George were frantic- What? You think I'm lying?" My aunt had asked this because I had snorted loudly, then I started holding my temples because they hurt because that snort had sent vibrations of noise reverberating through my head.

"No. I believe you about Aideen. George -- not so much." I took my spoon and scooped up a spoonful of stew and put it in my mouth and after I swallowed it, I knew I was done. I put the spoon on the tray and leaned back, my arms crossed lightly over my stomach. My aunt knew that as my sign that I was done and she picked up the tray and placed it on the bed next to mine.

"What do you mean? I thought you and George were fine, doing well."

"I don't wanna talk about it, Aunt Joan." I said, looking away as I tried to control the tears that wanted out.

"Okay. I won't press it, if that's what you want."

"Thank you." I whispered, finally trusting myself enough not to cry that I turned my head back.

"Are you going to be okay?" Aunt Joan asked.

"What with all the potions Madam Pomfrey's going to get down my throat, I don't doubt that I'll get better." I knew that wasn't what my aunt meant, but that's what I said.

"Alright. I'm going to head back to the house now. You get some rest, Gwen."

"OK, I will."

"Get well, Gwen." Aunt Joan said, standing and bending over to kiss my forehead. I did a vague smile -- I was ill, I could get away with it. And then my aunt walked out and Madam Pomfrey came over carrying yet another cup with a potion in it, no doubt.

"That's all you could eat?" She sniffed, looking at the bowl. "It's better then nothing I suppose. Here, a sleeping potion. You'll sleep deeply and get the necessary rest you need to get better."

I took the cup without saying anything and downed the potion. I leaned back against my pillows, already falling asleep. Right before I lost all conciousness and went to sleep, I felt Madam Pomfrey pull my sheets higher up me.

~Sometime Later~

My eyes fluttered open and the the Hospital Wing was full of sunlight, really brightening the place up. There was some kid sitting on a bed at the end of the row opposite my bed, puking his guts up into a five gallon bucket.

Now _that_ was not an attractive noise to wake up to.

"Ah, Miss Martin, you're awake." Madam Pomfrey noticed I had my eyes open. She briefly checked on the kid who was puking (maybe he'd ingested a Puking Pastille?) and then she brought two cups and bottles of potion over to me, placing what she needed on my bedside table. I forced down another cup of Pepper-Up Potion (and again steam came out of my ears) and another cup of cold congealed fish oil. Otherwise known as the potion that was supposed to help with my fever. Which I could feel was still raging. After taking those things, which were the height of disgusting, Madam Pomfrey decided to try me on solid food, since I hadn't thrown up the stew from last night. So, I got down a couple forkfuls of scrambled egg before I decided I didn't want anymore.

"Now. Though I advise against it, you have visitors waiting outside. I told them you were not in much shape to be receiving visitors, but they insisted."

"Who is it?" I asked. Yes, I was screening my visitors, but it was necessary.

"Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Jack Sloper."

I decided it was safe enough to let them in.

"I'll see them." I said.

Madam Pomfrey heaved this great sigh as if she'd loved nothing more then to keep me to strict bedrest, no visitors, but she bit back any comment she wanted to make and went to let in the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Katie whispered, like I was about to die.

"Katie, I have a cold and a fever, I'm not on my deathbed." I said. That made everyone laugh a bit and broke the ice.

"When do you think Madam Pomfrey will let you out of here so we can practice?" Angelina asked. Typical Quidditch captain, I ask you.

"No idea. You can ask her when she comes out to make me force down some peppers and cold congealed fish oil."

"Ewwwwww." Alicia and Ginny said.

"Yeah, that stuff is disgusting." I said.

They stayed and chatted with me for fifteen minutes, and they probably would have stayed longer but Madam Pomfrey came and kicked them out, claiming I needed a lot of rest to get well.

I took some more of the Pepper-Up Potion and the potion for my fever and I declined the sleeping potion, saying I wanted to try to sleep on my own. So I snuggled down, rolled onto my side and closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	42. Chapter 041

When I woke up, there were cards on the bedside table next to my bed and a big vase full of these deep red roses. I picked up the envelope that was in front of the vase and when I looked at the front, I put it back where I had found it. Instead I looked at the 'get well' cards I had received.

I was looking at the card Hermione had signed from her, Harry, and Ron when I heard the door to the Hospital Wing opening.

"Where's Madam Pomfrey?" Ginny whispered.

"She went to the bathroom." I said.

"Oh good. Fred, come on, it's okay."

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, pulling myself up so I could sit up straighter in bed.

"We came to visit." Fred said.

"Ginny already did." I pointed out.

"What? I can't come visit you a second time? Are there suddenly rules against it?" Ginny asked, making herself comfortable on the bed across from mine. Fred sat next to her and crossed his legs.

"No, not really." I said.

"So, how're you feeling?" Ginny asked.

"Like crap. But a bit better."

"Feeling like crap is better?" Fred asks, incredulous.

"Well, feeling like crap is a couple steps up from feeling like I'm about to kick the bucket." I told him.

"Oh yeah, suppose it is. So, read the card that comes with those flowers?" Fred asked.

"Nope." I said.

"You have to admit, you're curious." Ginny says.

"Nope." I said again. "Did you two come here as, like, emissaries or something?"

"Well, I got bribed. Fred did it out of the goodness of his heart."

"He payed you?!" Fred said, momentarily distracted.

"Yeah, George said he would pay me if I came with you to talk to Gwen because when he first asked, I told him that he kinda deserved her not speaking to him and that he kinda did deserve the self-hell he created for himself. That was when money came into the equation." Ginny explains to Fred.

"He's lucky he's my twin." Fred said.

"He's lucky I'm sick enough that I can't pop him in the face." I retorted.

"Gwen, would you please open the envelope and read the card?"

"Why?"

"Okay, let me tell you a story. You remember Christmas break? How George and I were just gone when you came in to wake us up, and according to McGonagall, you two were about to start seriouly wigging out?"

"Yes." I grudgingly (very grudgingly) admitted.

"Well, our mum wasn't going to let us go to Diagon Alley. Our dad agreed and was okay with us going, but, what with Percy not speaking to the family, compounded with how dangerous they know it's become out there, our mum was entirely unwilling. She said it was too dangerous, anything could happen at a moment's notice. George and I were both fighting her on it, but George was actually worse then I am for once."

"Which is a rare miracle, believe me." Ginny says when Fred pauses to take a breath.

"It's true. But this time, George was behaving worse then I was. He wouldn't leave mum alone, he kept following her around the place we were in, bugging her, nagging, definitely harrassing her. In fact, he risked her wrath way more then once until she gave in and agreed to let us out for the afternoon."

" 'Let you out'?"

"It's a long story." Ginny says. "Don't ask."

"Okaaaay." I said.

"So, do you see the point I'm trying to make here Gwen?"

"Maybe, maybe not." I said. In actuality, I did see his point, I'm just too damn stubborn for my own good.

"Okay," Fred said, rubbing his forehead. "Unless you know you can win or you're just as formidable, you don't really go up against my mother. She is a formidable woman who will go to bat for her children, no matter how much grief and trouble they cause, and she usually wins. Nine times out of ten. As much as I don't like to admit it and Ginny, you do not repeat what I am about to say to anyone," Fred says in a threatening kind of voice. Ginny salutes him. "My mom can be really, really scary. Especially when she gets angry. My dad landed in St. Mungo's over Christmas break. And he and the trainee Healer in his ward decided to try a Muggle remedy to injuries, something called stitches. Well, when my mum fund out she _flipped_. If she starts yelling, you know to clear out. George and I, Ginny, Ron, our brothers Bill and Charlie, we all have that ingrained into us. And George went up against my mom, with help from me, I'll admit, but it was mostly him doing the needling, so he and I could come see Aideen and you."

I started chewing on the inside of my cheek.

"And you should have heard him after he you yelled at him and he realized why Fred had given you a hug in the first place. That made him feel **really** bad." Ginny says. "So, why don't you please pick up that card and read it."

"Fine." I leaned over and picked up the envelope, stuck a finger in the corner and opened up the envelope. I pulled out the card, on the cover was this brown, cute and fuzzy looking teddy bear with its head bent in apology, hands clasped behind its back and one leg was bent like the bear was digging its toe in the dirt, that kind of thing. I let out a noise that was a cross between a huff and a 'pfff' and I opened the card. The inside of the card, when it had been brought, was blank. No cutesy saying of this or that. But now there was a note, written in George's slightly messy hand.

By the time I had read it, I had tears on the edge of my eyes, totally ready to fall down my face and I could not see for anything.

"Gwen?" Fred said in a voice so quiet, you'd think he was on eggshells around me, trying to not make me cry.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." I said quickly, fanning myself in the face with the card.

"No you're not." Ginny says. She gets up off the bed, takes the card out of my hand and places it on the table, not reading it (because Ginny, I've discovered, is cool like that), sits on the edge of the bed and takes me in her arms and then I start bawling like a baby.


	43. Chapter 042

Ginny just rocked me and alternated rubbing my back and smoothing my hair, saying stuff like 'shh' and 'it'll be okay' in a real quiet voice.

"What is going on here?" Madam Pomfrey's sudden -- and loud -- interruption shocked me out of crying (though I was still sniffling), made Ginny jump about a foot off the bed, and made Fred jump to his feet. "Why is Gwendolyn crying? She needs rest and crying and being made emotional will not make her better!"

"Madam Pomfrey, it's okay, we got everything under control. But, why don't you go get Gwen some chocolate, I'm sure she'd love some." Fred says, thinking on his feet and effectively blocking Madam Pomfrey from me so I could wipe my eyes on the sheet and recover somewhat.

"Alright, alright." Madam Pomfrey said. She disappeared into her office and came out hauling a small hammer and the biggest block of chocolate I had ever seen in my life. It had to weigh at least ten pounds, maybe fifteen.

Madam Pomfrey moved George's card and set the block of chocolate in its place before striking it with the hammer and breaking off a piece for me.

"Actually, Madam Pomfrey, I think my brother and I could do with some chocolate too." Ginny says.

Madam Pomfrey looks up and at Ginny and Fred's faces. "I suppose you could do with some chocolate." She breaks off pieces for them and carries the chocolate and hammer back into her office.

I took a small bite out of my chocolate, chewing it before I swallowed. Even that small piece of chocolate made me feel better. Maybe not physically, but definitely I felt better emotionally. I ate the rest of the chocolate and it did it's job.

"So, how long have I been in here?" I asked.

"I think it's been about three days. Because Hagrid found you, I think, on a Thursday night, you missed classes on Friday -- hell, you slept all the way through Friday, morning and night -- and then we visited you on Saturday and Hermione and Harry and Ron came shortly after us and you were out cold and you slept through 'til today." Ginny says.

"So... it's Sunday?"

"Yeah, you got lucky missing only one day of class." Fred says.

"That's if Madam Pomfrey lets me leave here tonight." I pointed out.

"Or tomorrow morning." Ginny says.

"Don't be such a downer, Ginny." Fred says.

A few minutes later Madam Pomfrey came out and kicked out Fred and Ginny and I forced down a couple more cups of potion and I ate the entire bowl of soup and the ham sandwich Madam Pomfrey had decided I could eat for dinner. And that made her happy and optimistic I could leave the Hospital Wing soon.

By the time I settled in for a nap, I still had a bit of a fever. But when I woke up, it had broken. And that just about sent Madam Pomfrey -- and me -- over the moon. The fever breaking definitely meant I was getting better, and I was happy because that meant I didn't have to take the damned fish oil anymore!

Aideen came by for a visit on Sunday evening, strictly after visiting hours, but she got a few minutes with me out of Madam Pomfrey by saying she'd brought me clothes so I wouldn't have to go back up to the tower Monday morning and be late to breakfast and all that jazz.

"So, George is still miserable." Aideen says, sitting on the bed opposite me. "Ginny and Fred were quite vague on the results of their visit with you, just saying they got you to read the card that came with these roses." Aideen unknowingly fingered one of the roses as she spoke.

"I did read the card. Don't tell me he sent you down here too?"

"Nope. I came to visit my best friend when she was actually concious. The other times I came, you were out cold."

"Well, sorry, the sleeping potions Madam Pomfrey has are no joke."

"I'm sorry Miss Winters, but it is time for you to go. Visiting hours are over."

"Okay. Thank you for letting me have a couple minutes anyway Madam Pomfrey." Aideen rose to go and I walked her to do the Hospital Wing, just to stretch my legs; the muscles felt a little atrophied after doing nothing for over three days.

"Aideen," I said in a quiet voice so it would not carry to Madam Pomfrey, "can you tell George to meet me here tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, of course!" She said, nodding her head rapidly.

"Thanks."

Aideen left and I walked back to my bed, seating myself gingerly on the edge of the bed.

"Have you over-exerted yourself?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"No, I'm alright." I said. Then I started coughing. That came and went, but it was still annoying as hell. But once the coughing had stopped, Madam Pomfrey gave me a cup no doubt full of Pepper-Up Potion and I drank it, managing to ignore the pepper taste. I got into bed and I drank the sleeping potion, soon out cold.

~The Next Morning~

I got woken up by Madam Pomfrey around the time I suppose I normally would if I were up in the tower. I changed my clothes, ate one last piece of chocolate (I tried protesting, but Madam Pomfrey just gave me that 'look' and I just ate it without complaining), and I walked out of the Hospital Wing.

The first thing I saw was George, sitting on the floor across from the door to the Hospital Wing with two school bags next to him.

"Hi." I said, meeting his eyes.

"Hi." George said back, getting up from the floor. "I brought your bag. I had Aideen bring it down before I came down here."

"Thanks." Were you wondering if we were going to move beyond monosyllables? So was I.

"Gwen, I-" I'm not entirely sure what George was trying to say to me. Because at that point I just rocketed across the few feet seperating us and in the next second I had my arms wrapped around George's neck.

"I am so sorry that I was such an asshole. I am so, so sorry. Forgive me, please."

"Consider yourself forgiven, then." I said, pulling back and wiping my thumbs under George's eyes, catching a couple of errant tears.

"I still feel like such a giant arse."

"Well, don't. Because you do not have a giant arse for starters." I said, making both me and George do that funny laugh that happens when you make someone laugh who's been crying.

"No, I guess not, but you have a cute one." George says, wiping a tear or two away from my face with his fingers. "What a pair we make. A couple of sad sacks crying outside the Hospital Wing."

"But I'm your sad sack, aren't I?" I said.

"Yes, yes you are." George caressed my cheeks gently and lightly with his fingers. His fingers slid up into my hair and he cupped my face in his hands and brushed his lips across mine, just enough for contact.

"I think we should get down to breakfast before..."

"Before what?"

"Before I say 'screw it' and drag you to some isolated corner of the castle."

"I'd enjoy that too much." George says, smiling and handing me my bag. I just smiled and shouldered my bag.

"I know. That's why I suggested we get down to the Great Hall before my iron-clad resolve got busted in two."

George laughed as we walked down the stairs.


	44. Chapter 043

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot, we are halfway there! And if you've actually read all the chapters leading up to this one, bravo for you!

George and I made it down to the Great Hall (without any detours. OK, there was one, but that was all Peeves) and took seats Fred and Aideen had saved for us. I had a pretty damn hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, sausage and apple sauce, believe it or not.

After breakfast, George and I spent a large part of our free period walking around the castle looking for teachers so I could get the work I had missed on Friday. After that we headed up to the tower because the weather was still a little too chilly for us to want to spend time outside, unless it couldn't be avoided.

"What do you think your family would do if you were to leave Hogwarts before you completed your education?" Fred asked Aideen shortly after George and I had returned to the common room.

"Well, my parents would flip. Most of my relatives would flip. But I don't really care. Because I have complete and total control over my bank account at Gringotts, no one in my family can touch it, so that's the only thing I would be worried about."

"What about you Gwen?" Fred asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea how my aunt would react. I mean, like Aideen, once I turned seventeen, the key to my vault got turned over to me. But if my aunt knew what a fucking hellhole this place has become since Umbridge took over, she'd understand. She might not like it, but she'd understand. Why do you wanna know?"

"No reason." Fred says a little to casually.

"My ass there's no reason." I said.

But neither Fred nor George would reveal anything under interrogation, so by the end of the period Aideen and I had given up.

The school was a different place without Dumbledore. Because, apparently, during my times of stone-cold unconciousness, Dumbledore had escaped. The tale had become legend already.

But since he had left, Umbridge had crowned herself de facto Headmistress. Oh, and was I close to just packing up my stuff and leaving. Not even counting the strange line of questioning from Fred, I was just fed up with this place. I used to love coming to this school, waking up to leave my dormitory and attend class, now I would rather hide in my common room or outside then be inside the school.

Easter break came and went before the reason behind Fred's odd questions to me and Aideen would be revealed. It was the first day back from break and we were all blowing off the period before lunch. We were, all four of us, sitting under a tree watching some kids who clearly did have a legal free period dabble in the shallows of the lake.

"So, George and are going to be causing a diversion today." Fred started.

"Is this the thing you were telling me about after my first Quidditch game?"

"Yeah."

"Care to explain to me?" Aideen said.

"I'm getting there! I'm getting there. OK, George and I have invented this thing called a Portable Swamp that can turn a large chunk of a hallway into a literal, real swamp where you'd need a raft to get across or you won't at all. And, for a friend, we need to cause a diversion, so we figure at the end of the day, for maximum impact of students in the corridor." Fred stops and George automatically picks up where his brother left off.

"And we know our chances of getting caught are pretty high. So, we're planning an escape. We have premises in London, you two know that, and it'll be easy enough to get the shop prepared and opened. But, we know that we have to get the hell out of here, and we plan on being the biggest, most annoying wart we can be to Umbridge before we get out. And we're asking you two if you'll come with us to London."

"So that's what the questions back before break were about." I said, things suddenly clicking into place for me.

"Pretty much." Fred says.

"So, Gwen, will you and Aideen come with us? We don't want to force you two to come if you're not ready or you want to finish out your year and graduate--"

"Yes." Aideen and I said together.

George and Fred's faces split into twin grins of pure unadulterated delight.

"How do you plan on getting your brooms from Umbridge?" I asked.

"Summoning Charm." George says to me.

"I'll help because my broom has gone 'missing.'" Aideen said, using quotation marks with missing.

"If you're willing to skip lunch, you'll have to pack during then. Because that's the only time any of us will have to pack." Fred says.

"Aideen, I can handle your stuff while you're off helping these two. Where should I meet up with you guys?"

"I'm thinking if we get caught, we'll be dragged to the Entrance Hall so Umbridge can make the biggest spectacle possible of us." George surmises.

"So it's either that or Gregory the Smarmy's corridor." Fred pipes up.

"Right, okay." The bell ran, signaling lunch and we all got up.

"Time to go pack." Fred and George say.

We got up and walked to the castle, working our way through the flood of students trying to go into the Great Hall. We made for the grand staircase and ran up it, heading right for Gryffindor Tower. Once inside the completely empty tower, we split to go to our own dormitories. Trunk lids were thrown up aided by our wands and we started running around throwing this and that into the trunks. I had to sit on top of Aideen's trunk while she latched it and locked it.

"Now, how are we going to deal with these big, heavy trunks?" Aideen asked.

"Leave it to me." I said as I zipped up the sweatshirt and threw my school clothes into my trunk and shut and locked it up. I pulled my wand out of my jean's pocket and tapped my trunk. " _Shrincatum!_ " (Pronounced: Shreen-cot-um) And just like that, my trunk shrunk until it was maybe the size of an 8 in by 11 in sheet of notebook paper. I did the same to Aideen's trunk and I put both in my bag, which still had some of my school books inside.

"Nice work." Aideen said, sounding mildly impressed.

"I try." I said, intentionally sounding like an over-confident asswipe.

I also took my broom out of its holder on the wall and I shrunk that to pocket size and put the straps of the bag over both shoulders.

"Come on, let's go." Aideen said, smiling. We made it down the staircase and we sat on the couch and waited for Fred and George to come down. Their coming was preceeded by a very loud clunking noise as they dragged their cases down the stairs. I shrunk their trunks too and put them in my back pack. I got a kiss from George and got told to wait in the common room for fifteen minutes.

I couldn't take it after ten minutes, so I started walking inordinately slowly down to the lower floors of the school. I heard shouting and what generally would be construed as a lot of noise coming from the Entrance Hall and I picked up my pace and ran, almost running in to Harry.

"Gwen, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a good idea that Umbridge is going to be really pissy."

"Why are you not in school robes?" Harry asked, noting my decidely less Wizard attire.

"It's a long story." I said. We forced our way through the crowd to see Aideen, Fred and George standing side by side, not looking too worried.

"Is that stinksap?" I asked Harry as I noticed a fair few people in the crowded hall covered in what looked like stinksap.

"I think so."

Umbridge started speaking and that was when I noticed her a couple steps down. That woman is seriously, seriously short.

Fred, George, and Aideen just stood there looking calm, collected and not scared of the old cow. George looked at the crowd behind Umbridge and smiled when he saw me.

When the twins summoned their brooms and we all heard the crashing noise, I took that as my cue to run down, push Umbridge aside, and go to George, Fred and Aideen. I got my broom back to regular size as Fred and George's brooms came flying over Umbridge's tiny, tiny head. I mounted mine, Fred and Aideen mounted Fred's broom, and George mounted his broom.

"See ya suckers." I said as we pushed off and rose about fifteen feet or so into the air.

Peeves was watching this whole thing with great interest. I had found found him on my way down, before I ran into Harry, and I had instructed him on where to find the joke stuff I'd hidden from Zonko's and I told him to use it for his own devices, the ways he best saw fit. I thought his head was going to explode when I told him that.

Fred looked around one last time, for Peeves, who was floating above everybody's heads.

"Give her hell from us, Peeves." And Peeves actually took his hat off and saluted Fred. And I have never seen that poltergeist take a direct order from a student before.

And then we were outta there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And you all know the drill with the 'Give her...' line. Belongs to JK Rowling, not moi.


	45. Chapter 044

I guess we took the extended route to London, being careful to avoid Muggles for as long as we possibly could. But, by the time we had reached the Leaky Cauldron, dark had fallen for sure.

And we were hungry. We had stopped just on the England side of the border in some isolated forest and had a very, very bad lunch of some of the candy stash that had been built up by Hogsmeade trips. But, as everybody knows, candy doesn't keep you full for long.

So, with Tom looking quite surprised at the sudden appearance of four teenagers he knew to be Hogwarts students in his pub, we ordered whatever he was serving tonight for dinner. Which turned out to be pork chops with mashed potato and we all decided to get some fruity-smelling wine called Marsala wine (hey, we were technically adults now) and we sat down at a table to eat.

"So, how long do you think before Umbridge notifies the proper authorities?" Aideen asked.

"I would not be surprised if she did it after she got everyone into the Great Hall for dinner. So, I'm thinking we should be expecting a visit sometime tomorrow." George surmises.

"This is going to be fun." I said, without meaning it.

Though, I do have to admit some morbid curiosity at seeing the various reactions we'd be getting from those who were our parents and/or legal guardian.

We ate our dinner, paid for the meal and moved on through to the back. This time I tapped the bricks above the trash can.

"OK, is it me, or is Diagon Alley kinda creepy at night?" Aideen asked as we walked up the street.

"It is." George agreed.

And I could definitely go with Aideen on that. What with all the darkened store fronts and our way was lit pretty much by the stars and moon.

" _Lumos_." Fred and I muttered at the same time. George and Aideen lit their wands too and that helped a lot. We arrived at the new premises of Fred and George's joke shop. Fred and George led Aideen and I down the side of the building and up a staircase flush against the side of the building.

"And here we are. Number Ninety-Three Diagon Alley." Fred said, pulling a key out of his pocket and unlocking the door. We stepped inside the darkened flat, putting our broomsticks in the corner by the front door.

"It isn't much right now, but we can make it into something." George said.

"Oh yes, we can." Aideen said. We looked at each other and our faces burst into evil grins.

"Oh dear." George pretends to be worried.

"We definitely knew what we were getting ourselves into." Fred says to his brother.

Aideen conjured up candles and lit them and made them float, which gave the front hallway soft lighting and still using the light of our wands we wandered through the flat. We opened every window we found, just to air the place out, and then we got to the part of the flat where the bedrooms and bathroom were. That was going to be fun. One bathroom to share between four of us.

We picked our bedrooms. George and I got the bedroom that faced the street and I put my backpack down by the door and pulled out our shrunken trunks.

"Here's your trunk," I said, handing George his. "You can just use an Engorgement Charm to return it to normal size."

"Okay." He replied. I grabbed Aideen's and Fred's trunks and took it across the hall to them and relayed the same instructions to them. That was AFTER I walked in on the two of them making out. Yeah, that was kinda embarrassing.

"What was with all the commotion across the hall?" George asked as I grabbed my own trunk and returned it to normal size.

"I walked in on Aideen and Fred making out." I said, levitating my trunk until it came to rest under the window. "Add a couple of cushions and that would make a nice little window seat."

"Look at you. Less then five minutes inside the flat and you've already gone all domestic on me."

"Oh, you know you love it." I said, holding my wand in my hand while I had my thumb and pointer finger kinda cupping my chin (you know, the thinking action) and did a slow three-sixty.

"Mm, you do look cute when you're thinking of ways to decorate this space." George says, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around me.

"What kind of bed do you like?" I asked.

"I don't really mind what kind of bed you decide on, long as I get to share it with you." George says, brushing aside my windblown hair and pressing his lips right under my ear, almost toward the back of it. That made goosebumps race down my arms and legs and sent a shiver up my spine. George smiled against my skin, knowing why I had shivered. "I didn't know I had the power to make you shiver like that." He whispered as a 'thunk' noise came from Aideen and Fred's room.

"Apparently that's a sensitive point on me we didn't know about." I whispered.

THUNK.

"I wonder how many more there are we could find." George whispers, in this almost teasing voice.

THUNK.

"Probably plenty to keep you busy." I answered truthfully.

THUNK.

"OK, now that is distracting. What are those two doing?" George says, sounding kinda peeved.

"Aideen?" I called out.

"Yeah?" Came the reply.

"What are you and Fred doing?"

"We would be arranging furniture." Fred replied in a tone of voice that wondered how George and I could think otherwise.

"Okay, carry on." George says.

"Well, that kinda spoiled the moment."

"Yeah, but there's always later." George said. And that made me laugh. "I think we should probably get to the furniture now though."

"Yeah. Okay, to start off with we need a bed." I waved my wand and out came a queen size bed, made of a dark oak. The headboard was simple, just a single recessed rectangle. The sheet covering the mattress was white, the sheets too, but the comforter was red.

"You forgot pillows." George says.

"I left those for you." I sniffed, acting like I had done that on purpose (I hadn't).

Next came bedside tables that matched the frame of the bed. I levitated George's trunk to the foot of the bed before I magically enlargened the one closet so it would be big enough for the both of us. I created a full length mirror and hung that on the inside of one of the closet doors. I made a couple of photo frames and I went to my trunk and pulled out the album of pictures of my mother and shrunk or enlarged or stretched the frames accordingly. I put one of my mom that my aunt Joan had taken when I was not a year old on one of the bedside tables, leading George to remark that I had claimed my side of the bed. Two I angled on the window sill and the others I turned into hanging frames and hung them on the wall.

"And already it's a bedroom." George said as I hung the last photo.

"I do think we're going to need more wall art though."

"I agree, but those will come later. For now we should get to bed. It's late and we have a lot of work to do. Not just on the rest of the flat, but on the shop too."

"Okay." I agreed. I got my nightclothes and went into the closet and got changed while George just stripped off everything but his underwear and put on a pair of pajama pants.

I climbed into bed under the sheets and George joined me. He held his arm out and I got under his arms and cuddled my head to his chest.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you too." George said, lowering his head mine for a brief kiss.

And then we fell asleep.


	46. Chapter 045

By the time I woke up the next morning, George was still sleeping, but I could smell eggs and bacon cooking. I slid out of the bed, careful not to disturb George and I left our room, padding down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Mornin', Sleepyhead." Aideen said, briefly looking up from the bacon she was flipping.

"H-h-h-hiiiiii." I said, unable to stifle a yawn.

"That was attractive." Fred says from the table, where he's nursing a cup of tea.

"Shut up." I said, taking a seat at the table.

"She doesn't do mornings well." Aideen says, placing a cup of tea in front of me.

"Damn straight I don't." I said, unable to stifle another yawn.

"Is George up yet?" Fred asks.

I shook my head. "I left him asleep. Was this table here last night?"

"Nope. It's all Fred's handiwork." Aideen says, setting a plate down in front of Fred and me.

"Nice work." I said, actually looking at the table, like the legs and all that.

"Thanks." Fred said as Aideen returned with a plate for herself.

"There's enough left in the covered pan for George if he wants some when he wakes up."

"Okay. When did we get all the food? Because last night there was nothing in the flat that was edible."

"We woke up early this morning and well, none of the food people were actually open in Diagon Alley so instead I went to Gringotts and got our some money changed over to Muggle money and we went shopping at some, what did the guy call it?" Aideen turns to Fred.

"A farmer's market." Fred supplies.

"Yeah, that. And we got some fresh fruit, some vegetables, eggs, bacon. And some really pretty flowers." Aideen says, pointing to the daisies and pansies in a little vase on the window in the kitchen.

"You ventured out into the Muggle world? And you didn't screw anything up?"

"I am capable of going out into a world not my own and not screwing everything up." Aideen said, taking the jibe in stride as Fred and I laughed.

"Congratulations. I'd give you a cookie for a job well done, but we appear to have no cookies."

"I appreciate the gesture anyway."

"So, what's on tap for today?" I asked as I ate a piece of bacon.

"Well, we've got to get the living room put together. And I'm expecting somebody from one of our families to show up if not all three at the same time," Aideen says, shuddering. "And I think we have to go work on the actual shop."

"We do." Fred says, nodding.

I'm about to put the last forkful of egg in my mouth when there's a yell and a loud 'thump' from mine and George's room.

"George? George, are you okay?" I yelled, dropping my fork and running out of the little kitchen. I burst through our door to no George in the bed. I run around to my side of the bed to see George all tangled up in the sheets and he's all but off the bed.

"How did you get over here?" I asked as I started helping him get his legs untwisted.

"I have no idea." George says.

"Wow, you got yourself twisted up good." Aideen says when she gets around the bed.

"Yes, I did. You have a very keen grasp of the obvious." George says, freeing one leg and then the other.

"How rude! And I made you breakfast!" Aideen says, shoving her nose up in the air and prancing off, acting very offended. George, Fred and I watched her go and I broke first. I was the first one to start laughing.

I tried to muffle it at first by pressing my face into the mattress, but no go. I couldn't keep it quiet and it wasn't long after I'd starting laughing that Fred and George did.

"Oh God, she is too much." I said, lying on my back on the floor.

"Aideen would do amazing at St. Mungo's." Fred says.

"She would."

"I can hear you!" Aideen yells down the hallway.

"Good!" Fred yells back.

"How's the breakfast?" George asks his brother.

"Pretty good, actually." Fred says before he leaves the room.

"I was almost done with mine when we heard the thump come from here."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for interrupting your most precious breakfast." George says in this high-pitched Lord Fauntleroy type of voice. I just started giggling and George got up and took my hand and pulled me up.

"Welcome to the first morning of the rest of our lives out of school." George said.

"Yay." I said.

Hand-in-hand George and I walked to the kitchen and I finished that last forkful while George ate his breakfast. And while I was washing up my breakfast dishes, there came a tapping on the front door.

"I got it." Fred says, getting up and walking down the hall. We all listen as he opens the door, and there's no talking and then the door shuts and Fred's walking back up the hallway.

"What was with all the silence?" Aideen asks.

"That was an owl tapping its beak on the glass. You have mail." Fred says, handing Aideen a scroll.

"Oh joy." Aideen says, her voice, extremely sarcastic.

"What?" I asked.

"It's from mommy dearest." She says, splitting the seal on the scroll and unrolling it. Aideen reads the letter and George, myself and Fred all watch her as her eyes travel farther and farther down the parchment. Finally, she sets the scroll down and starts laughing.

"Oh, that is rich. That is really rich." She says, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Huh?" Fred, George and I all some how manage to say at the same time.

"Read it for yourselves." Aideen says, pushing the scroll toward me. I picked it up and started to read it and Fred and George came and read it over my shoulder.

"Ohhhhhh that is low." George said.

"You know, I am suddenly really glad I have never, ever met any members of your family." Fred says. His voice sounded funny when he said that, and I think it's because he was grinding his teeth.

"Yeah, how come I haven't?" I asked. I've met their house elf, Loddy, and her dad, but no one else.

"Because I like you!" Aideen says, emphatic in her answer.


	47. Chapter 046

"That's a good reason." I said, laying down the parchment.

"So, who wants to get dressed and go check out the store?" George asks in a general way, not asking anyone in particular.

"Sure." Aideen says, shrugging.

"Yeah." I said.

"Well, yeah, we have to figure out what we're going to do in there." Fred says.

So, abandoning the letter that had peeved us all off on the kitchen table, we went to our rooms and got dressed. This time, George chose to go and get dressed in the closet. It was kinda funny how we acted about the whole nudity, are we going to be embarrassed to be naked in front of each other or not thing. But, we'd cross that bridge when we got to it.

I pulled on a pair of black jeans and a white Wizarding Sisters t-shirt and a pair of sneakers. And since I figured we were likely to get dirty, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. The four of us left the flat and walked down the stairs and as soon as we rounded the corner, we saw all these boxes sitting on the street.

"Dude! They couldn't even bring the boxes up to the flat door?! How the hell does a freaking owl know where to go to deliver a 'The family is disowning you' letter, but they don't know where to go to bring me my stuff?" Apparently, seeing her things just lying there in boxes that someone had placed on the street so carelessly, pissed Aideen off a lot more then the letter had.

"Remember, they're a bunch of purist assholes." I said to her. George and I grabbed boxes, stacked them on top of each other and carried them upstairs to the flat while Fred calmed Aideen down. As I walked up the stairs behind George, I heard Fred say to Aideen, "Screw them, they don't know what they're losing in you." Amen to that one.

"This really hit a nerve with her." George says, indicating the boxes after we'd placed them on the floor by Fred and Aideen's bed.

"Yeah. I figured they might do something like that. Her family's not very nice."

"I imagine that they are like the Malfoy's with their Pureblood mania."

"God, and all the wizard's who have the blood people like the Winters -- that is a very appropriate last name for them by the way -- and the Malfoys like -- ooh, do I feel bad for them, being related to horrible people like that."

"You mean people like us?"

I thought about that for a second. Yeah, I was pretty much related to Aideen, a cousin god knows how many times removed. The Malfoys too -- EWWWWWWWW!!!!! Sorry, the girly shriek was necessary.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't think about it as Pureblood and Half-blood. It's just red stuff that helps keeps us alive. And what blood runs in my veins, yours, Aideen's, Fred's, Harry's, Seamus', Lee, anybody for that matter, that should not matter what kind of blood they have. What should matter is the people they turn out to be and how they use the powers they were born with. But unfortunately, I think what kind of blood you have will count for more and more and for all the wrong reasons quite soon."

"I have a feeling you're going to turn out right about that. Come on, we should get back outside before Fred and Aideen wonder what have happened to us."

"I have a pretty good idea of what Aideen will be thinking that we're doing." I said, attempting to lighten the mood as it seemed to have dropped quite a few notches into depressing territory.

George and I left the flat to get the rest of the boxes we couldn't grab on the first trip. Aideen was still being calmed down by Fred, only they were doing it inside the store. I'm gonna go out on a limb (mind you, a very very thin limb) and say it was so people couldn't hear what they were saying. Because since we had gone inside it had gotten a lot more crowded and busier. After the last boxes had been dropped off and the door locked and bewitched so no one could break in, (George and I did everything we possibly could to the door and the lock and the frosted glass window) we headed into the store.

"So, this is the future home of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes." I said when Aideen had let us in, calmed down by this point.

"Yes, it is." Fred and George said.

"So, how's this place going to be set up?" I asked.

"Well, we're thinking of putting the till over here." Fred says, doing a backward run to the back of the store.

"We're thinking of Stretching that little demented looking, useless piece of something sticking out of the wall and then dragging it this way so it creates an 'L' shape and putting the till on the corner.-" George says, using his hands to illustrate the vision going on in his head.

"That way the person who's manning the till can keep an eye on the whole store."

"Clever." I said.

"I suggested it." Aideen said.

"Clever lady, then." I said.

"Thank you!" Aideen said, looking very pleased with herself.

"So, what are we going to do about displaying the product and such stuff like that?" I asked Fred and George.

"Shelving on some of the walls, definitely, and we're going to have shelves in rows and the like, on the floor too. And we'll probably put some of the stuff in barrels too, displays in the window definite thing." Fred says.

So, with that explained to me, I asked a question that seemed kind of obvious to me. "Where is all the merchandise anyway? Because, if you stored it at Hogwarts, then you have a problem."

"Nah. We got it stored at our parents place." George says. "Of course you may be right about us having a problem if mum has kittens over us just leaving school."

"Oh, we'll sweet talk her down, we always do." Fred says, dismissive of the possible problem.

For the rest of the day, Aideen, Fred, George and I spent it in the store, cleaning. Around lunch I stretched out and made a foot or so taller, the counter where you'd pay for your purchases and then we dusted and cleaned the crap outta that place.

We had the front door wide open too, but that did little to help the dust floating around problem. So I went and grabbed two school shirts of mine and made masks out of them. And I did indeed get very dirty. I was covered in a mixture of dirt, dust, and sweat by the time we had decided to call it a night.

"You know what, it might have been easier to siphon all the dust off with our wands." George said as we stood around (rather then sit down and get our bed dirty) and waited for Aideen to get out of the bath.

"It just might have." I agreed.

"Bathroom's free." Aideen announced.

"You go first." I said to George.

"Are you sure? You did say how you really wanted to shower."

"No, it's okay. You go."

George shrugged his shoulders and went and got into the shower. I walked over to the window and looked down at the street. There weren't many people left now on the street. Those that were left were runnning about doing last minute shopping or heading toward the Leaky Cauldron and by extension, home. I shut the windows when a chilly breeze blew in that raised big goosebumps on my arms.

A few minutes later, George came back into our room, pretty much naked, holding a towel up that was loosely wrapped around his waist.

"Shower's all yours, love." George said as he rummaged around in his trunk for a clean pair of pajamas.

"Thanks." I said. I walked into our little bathroom and my dirty clothes joined the pile already on the floor and I stepped into the shower and washed myself clean. And it feels so good to get yourself clean when you get so dirty.

I walked back into our room a towel wrapped around my body and one on my hair.

"Feel better?" George asked.

"Loads." I agreed. I hitched the towel around my body up and made it tighter and then I threw my head forward and gave it a good towel-drying.

"So, what do you want for supper?" I asked.

"I don't know, I'm not really that hungry, you know?"

"Not really." I admitted.

"I guess it's hard to explain. I am hungry, I suppose, I just don't know what I really want to eat."

"You'll figure out something." I said, going by George to get to my trunk. I grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of night shorts and I had these things in my hands when George swept me up in his arms.


	48. Chapter 047

"Okay, if we're going to make out, I think it's only fair that I-" I never got to finish that sentence because George leaned down and kissed me. The clothes dropped from my hand and landed on the floor as my arms slid up George's chest and became wrapped around his neck.

We stood like that for a time. George's arms secure around my waist, my arms around his neck, us making out. Then George moved his arms and picked me up bridal style and carried me over to the bed and set me down amongst the pillows and climbed onto the bed with me -- never once breaking the kiss. I slid my hands up into George's hair, still wet from his shower, and I tried to pull him closer.

One of George's hands ghosted down the side of my face, fingertips doing the barest of brushing against my skin. It came to the towel that had already half come off my body.

George pulled back a bit, but not much. "Only if you want to." He whispered.

"I do want to." I said to him. George pressed his kiss-swollen lips back to mine and removed the towel from my body, tossing it over his shoulder. I took my fingers out of George's hair and started running them up and down his back, using my nails to graze his skin, as George gently carressed my side. I couldn't help arching into his touch, I liked it.

After touching for awhile, I decided that I didn't want to be on the bottom anymore and I grabbed George's shoulders and I rolled him over and I landed on top. George just chuckled as I reached for my wand and pointed it at the door and muttered a spell to make it lock and then I pointed my wand at the wall next to my door and said, " _Silencio Rooma._ " A dull grey substance came out of my wand and coated every inch of our walls and the door and windows. I put my wand back on the table and sat up straighter, running a hand through my hair to get it out of the way. "Now, where were we?"

"Somewhere about here." George says, kissing the palm of my hand before pulling me back down to him.

~The Next Morning~

I felt warmth on my face and opened my eyes to see the room lit with early morning sunlight.

I turned my head upward a touch to see the face of the man sleeping next to me. George had his head turned away, so all I got was profile, but I still liked the view I had. George was asleep on his back, but he had one arm wrapped around me, pulling me into his side. I lay there, basking in the early morning afterglow of sex. In the silence only broken by George's light snoring, my thoughts drifted back to last night and I could not help the smile that came to my face, or the perfect 'o' my mouth formed when I tried to move and found my joints a bit stiff and sore.

But I could live with that. Last night, and then that time in the Room of Requirement where it almost happened, they just further proved to me how right George and I were for each other.

And then I heard a knock. Then another. And another. I slid out from under George's arm and grabbed a pair of underwear out from my trunk and then I grabbed George's shirt that he'd had on the night we'd made our escape from Hogwarts and using my wand I had it buttoned in a trice.

Still holding my wand, I walked down the hall, heading for the front door as the knock sounded again. And again.

"I'm coming." I called out. I could make out three figures on the other side of the frosted glass. " _Alohomora._ " I whispered. The lock glowed gold and after the gold died away I knew I could open the door. And open it I did before my eyes bugged almost out of my head and my jaw went slack.

"What are you guys doing here? So early in the morning?" I said in a voice that did not sound like my normal voice at all.

"We came to see you, George, Fred and Aideen." My aunt said, not sounding happy.

"And to have a chat with you four." Mrs. Weasley said.

Uh-oh.

"Um, um," I gulped a couple times and tried to clear my throat. "Come in. The front room is just through there, I'll be right back."

I left one of them to shut the door as I ran back toward mine and George's room and Aideen and Fred's room.

"George! George! Wake the hell up!" I whisper-yelled as I ran into our room and jumped on the bed and onto him.

"What's going on?" George asked.

"My aunt and your parents are here!" I said, shaking his shoulders.

"Are you serious?" George said, bolting into a sitting position and knocking me back on to my ass.

"Yeah, I am! They're in the living room, and they don't look thrilled either!" I told him as I went across the hall to Aideen and Fred's room. I woke them both with the same lovely news and they had similar reactions to George's.

I got a pair of sweatpants on and a bra and I plucked the t-shirt that I had been planning to put on (before I lost my V-Card) off the floor and pulled it on. All four of us ingored the bed head and headed into the living room.

"Mum, you look rather lovely this morning. Did you do hair different?" Fred asks in this jovial manner when we walk into the living room.

"Sit." She said, pointing at the couch. We all sat down rather quickly.

"What were you four thinking?" Mr. Weasley said, the first time I had heard him talk since I'd seen him on the stairs a few minutes ago.

"About what specifically, dad?" George asks, now trying the jovial tact himself.

"Leaving school before your education was finished." Mr. Weasley said.

"Turning part of a school corridor into a swamp." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Well, it isn't like the N.E.W.T.S. would be of much use to us as we do not plan to go into the Ministry or do any of the other careers that require the N.E.W.T.S., and we felt like we had learned all we could from Hogwarts and we had outgrown standard education." Fred said.

"And the swamp was a prank and we used it to cause a diversion so Harry could talk to Si- someone over the Floo Network without Umbridge groping about in the fire." George explained.

Aunt Joan, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were silent for a moment, like they were trying to come up with counter-arguments to Fred and George's perfectly logical answers.

"Well, what about Gwen and Aideen?" Mrs. Weasley asked finally.

"We came of our own free will. Fred and George asked, never put any pressure on us to go with them. Gwen and I made that decision on our own. And when you have an evil de facto Headmistress who is a tyrant, the decision isn't hard." Aideen said.

"Gwen, you wanted to be an Auror." My aunt said.

"Not anymore." I said.

"Why not?"

"Aunt Joan, Mr. Weasley, no offense, but why in the name of Merlin's saggy left nut would I want to be part of a government that is as inept and incompetent as the Ministry. We've got a Prime Minister who's softer then ice cream left outside on a hot day and who is goes around acting like everything's all hunky-dory and everything's fine, when evil incarnate is back and on the friggin' loose, no doubt trying to gather back supporter's. If I didn't know better, I'd say You-Know-Who would have to dance in front of Fudge wearing a foofy ballerina outfit before Fudge would acknowledge he's returned, and I won't work under someone like that." I didn't miss the small smile that crossed Mr Weasley and Mrs. Weasley's face. And my aunt actually nodded and didn't immediately start yelling.

"Did we mention how much Umbridge sucks?" Aideen said conversationally.


	49. Chapter 048

"You might have once or twice now." Mr. Weasley said in a wry sort of voice.

Aunt Joan and Mrs. Weasley traded looks. Clearly, whatever they wanted to say now was obsolete and therefore useless. So, they decided to try a new tact.

"How many rooms are there in this flat?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her eyes scrutinizing each of us.

"Two." George said, wary.

"Oh, so, Gwen, you and Aideen are sharing a room, and then George and Fred share a room?"

Oh, they were playing dirty. But, then again, so could we.

"Well, if you mean sharing a room by, Aideen and I don't sleep in the same room, then yeah, sure, we're sharing a room." I said. And I'm almost positive I could hear my aunt's blood pressure ratchet up a few notches.

"Four, unmarried Wizards living together, sharing rooms, beds, you have to see how bad that looks." Aunt Joan says.

"Maybe people should mind their own business. It's not like we're turning this flat into a hedonistic pit of god-knows-what. We've only been here two days Ms. Moore. And we are seventeen now, we're not exactly little kids anymore. We are of age."

"Aideen has a point." Mr. Weasley says.

"Arthur, dear, _whose side are you on_?" Mrs. Weasley asks her husband, coming close to snarling. It was kind of a scary sight to witness.

"I'm just being fair, Molly." He said.

"And don't bother to try and convince us to do this or that or whatever it was you had planned to say to us to make us feel guilty. We're going to stay together." Fred says.

"So you two really plan on opening a joke shop?" Mrs. Weasley finally asked.

"Yeah." George and Fred said in tandem.

"And Gwen and Aideen, you two plan on helping?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"I do at any rate." I said.

"I plan on trying to get a job at St. Mungo's, not as a Healer or anything like that. But someone who goes around and tries to make the patients feel better. I should put my Metamorphosing to use somehow." Aideen said.

"Oh. That's lovely." Aunt Joan said.

"Let me guess, we cracked your plan down the middle and destroyed it." I said to her.

"Well, yes you did." She says.

"Don't worry that you guys did anything wrong or went wrong somewhere with these three dorks here." Aideen says. "All three of them turned out fine and a damn sight nicer then many kids still up at the school."

"What about your family, Aideen? How do they feel about you just dropping out of school like this?" Mrs. Weasley said. The words themselves may have sounded a wee bit harsh this early in the morning, but the way Mrs. Weasley said them, it was not meant to be harsh.

"I could give a burning rat's tail what they think of me. They've already disowned me. I got an owl yesterday from my mom stating just that and they left my things from my room at their home on the sidewalk in front of the store, that should give you an indication of how much they care." said Aideen.

"See, Molly? I told you it would be okay. Our boys may have gotten less O.W.L.S then you would have liked them to, but they have good heads on their shoulders, like we raised them and their lady friends are clearly also young women who have their heads firmly stuck on (He's never seen Aideen on a sugar rush), and they seem to be a good influence on the boys."

"Yeah, mum, listen to dad, he makes sense." Fred said.

"Well, since that is clearly that, and we can convince none of you to go back to Hogwarts, I hope you four do well here." Mrs. Weasley said, graciously accepting defeat.

"And on that note, Arthur and I have to get to work." Aunt Joan said standing. "Good luck girls, good luck boys." I got a hug from her and I shook hands with Mr. Weasley and vice versa and such with everybody else, and the two of them left.

"That's it? You're not going to start yelling and screaming and crying about how we've destroyed our futures?" Fred asks his mum.

"No." Mrs. Weasley said simply. "You're right. You are seventeen now, and you should be able to think for yourself and make decisions and deal with the consequences of those decisions. And I have to learn to let you go to a certain extent, but you know, to me you'll always be my Freddy and George-y."

And at that point Mrs. Weasley stood and hugged her twin sons fiercely. That gave me and Aideen the opportunity to shove our faces into the back of the couch to try and recover ourselves and not burst out laughing. After all, she hadn't meant 'Freddy' and 'George-y' in a mean and teasing way, they were just cute little nicknames she had given them when they were kids.

"Mum- can't breathe." George choked out.

"Sorry, George, dear." Mrs. Weasley said, letting go of her sons.

"It's okay, mum." George replied, somewhat awkwardly patting her arm.

"Hey, Mrs. Weasley, I have a question." Aideen says.

"What is it?"

"How come you guys didn't show up yesterday? George was positive that you'd show up the day after we left Hogwarts."

"Ah," Mrs. Weasley said, a sheepish smile crossing her face. "Your aunt came over and we spent a large part of the day planning what we were going to say to you four, to convince you to go back. We thought that presenting a unified front would be a good idea, but as you obviously just saw, there's no accounting for wanting to see your children happy."

"Thanks, mum." Fred said.

"Yeah, thanks. Have we ever told you how much we love you?" George said, giving his mother a voluntary hug.

"I love you boys too." Mrs. Weasley says, looking like she's on the verge of bursting into tears.

"Now that the potential showdown has been taken care of, would anyone care for breakfast?" I asked, getting up from the couch.

"You haven't eaten breakfast yet?" Mrs. Weasley asked, so clearly in mom mode at this point.

"Mum, we were still asleep when you, dad, and Gwen's Aunt Joan surprised us." Fred said.

"Oh."

"Mrs. Weasley would you like to stay for breakfast?" I asked.

"I would love to." She said.

"Come on Aideen, you can help me cook." I said, getting Aideen by the arm and dragging her up.

"I can?" She said.

"Yes, you can." I said.

"Okay, apparently I can." Aideen said.

We went into the kitchen and I got the eggs out of the fridge and I started to crack them open and put the yolks and egg whites in a bowl and then I ran back to my room, grabbed my wand and I had my wand beating the eggs (not literally, of course) and then Aideen took over and poured the eggs into a heated pan, making them scrambled while I started making a fruit salad with some of the fruit Aideen had brought the morning after our arrival. We were eating disgustingly healthy for a bunch of teenagers. We may have been of age, but we were still teenagers.

After we'd had breakfast, Fred, George, Aideen and I refused to let Mrs. Weasley do any of the dishes. She left to go back to the Burrow shortly after breakfast, but promised to return and visit sometime soon.


	50. Chapter 049

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the two lines of dialogue from Harry Potter 5 is the 'welcome to the ministry....' line and the 'attach the badge...' and they belong to JK Rowling, not me.

~A Month and Change Later~

The shop was coming along nicely. Since no one we knew or had asked knew any spells for painting and such, we'd had to handpaint the interior of the shop ourselves and give the exterior of the building a fresh coat of paint ourselves, by hand, no magic. That wasn't a whole lot of fun. Unless you count the paint fights we got into.

Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley had come for a visit a couple weeks after showing up on our doorstep unannounced, carrying boxes of Fred and George's products.

Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes for right now was still a mail-order service, but it looked like the twin's hope of opening by the time Hogwarts students came to buy supplies would happen.

Fred and George even interviewed a couple people for clerk positions. They hired one Witch, a sweet blonde girl named Verity and she got along fine with all four of us, so we knew she'd be a pretty good employee of the boys.

Oh, and they had picked out the uniform robes that the employees (me, Verity, the boys) would be wearing when on duty. They were magenta. Frickin' bright magenta. They clashed badly with the red in my hair, the blue looked rather nice with the magenta though. But they clashed rather violently in my opinion with Fred and George's hair.

Aideen had gotten the job at St. Mungo's and from all accounts, she had been a tremendous success so far with all the patients they'd started her with.

"Aideen, can you let the guys know that dinner is ready?" I said as I put the last few tomatoes into the salad and gave it a good tossing.

"Sure." Aideen put down the plates she'd gotten out of the cupboard and going into the hallway. "Oi, you two hurry up and get out of the showers! Dinner's ready!"

We had added a second bathroom a week or so after we moved in. We rapidly had figured out making four teenagers share one bathroom was not the best of ideas.

"Yes, dictator lady!" Fred yelled from the other end of the flat. It was definitely a weird but fun experience living with my best friend and her boyfriend.

"Good minion!" Aideen yelled, walking back into the kitchen.

"You two were made for each other, I swear." I said as I got some salad dressing knocked together; I was really starting to get the hang of household spells now.

"Same as you and George, Gwen." Aideen said, setting the table.

I picked up the salad bowl, throwing in the serving spoon and fork haphazardly and I turned around to go and put it on the table. But the salad never made it to the table.

"Holy shit!" I shrieked, throwing the salad bowl out of surprise and jumping up onto the counter.

What made me jump like that? My great-great-etc. grandmother, the one respsonsible for the streaks of blue in my hair.

"What's wrong?" George yells as he and Fred come flying into the kitchen to me staring wide-eyed at my grandmother.

"Your friends are heading into danger." Rowena says, her voice slightly echo-y and otherworld-ly sounding.

"Which ones and where?" I asked.

"Your friends Potter, the Weasley children, Granger, Lovegood and Longbottom. They head to the Ministry to rescue Potter's godfather. They will be there soon. They are heading into danger..." Rowena faded out as she said the last sentence.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" Aideen said as Fred and George ran back out to get the rest of their clothes on.

I grabbed my wand from the counter and put it to my throat and uttered what I liked to call the Patronus Messenger spell. "Harry and everybody wait, we're on our way, be there shortly." The manticore shot off through the ceiling. Me and Aideen ran pell mell for the front closet and grabbed shoes and hurriedly shoved our feet in them. Fred and George grabbed the jackets they were tossed and the four of us ran out of the flat.

"Which end of the Ministry are they gonna be at?" Aideen asks as we thundered down the stairs.

"Has to be the visitor's entrance, it'll be the only one they can get into this time of the night." George says as we emerged onto the street.

A prompt turn on the spot and I Apparated to the visitor's entrance. Well, okay, I ended up down the street from it. So did Fred. Aideen and George were closer by a whole six yards and we ran up the street like hell, hoping Harry would wait for us.

"Ginny!" Fred yelled as we rounded the corner.

"Harry... you do realize... you could be walking into a trap?" Aideen panted as we reached the group.

"I don't care." Harry said fiercely.

"Well, now that's out of the way." George says.

"Let us go down first in case this is a trap. Because me and Aideen and Fred and George are all of age and we can use magic without the Trace getting in the way. And we can clear the room out in case it is a trap. And there is no way in hell all ten of us are going to fit into the phone box."

"Harry, Gwen makes a point." Hermione says.

"Fine." Harry says.

"What's the number again?" Fred asked as the four of us climbed into the booth.

"six, two, four, four, two." Harry said irritably from outside the box.

"Got ya." Fred says, picking up the receiver and dialing.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business." This cool female sounding voice said as if she were right next to us in the booth.

"Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Aideen Winters, Gwen Martin and we're here to rescue Sirius Black-"

"Thank you," said the cool female voice. "Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

There was a click and the badges came out and Fred took them and handed them out as the phone box descended.

"This is starting to feel more and more like a suicide mission." Aideen muttered as she fixed the badge to her shirt.

"It's better then if the six of them came by themselves." I said as the phone box touched down at the visitor's entrance. The four of us walked out of the box, wands drawn.

The visitor's entrance was eerily dark and creepy, especially with all the fireplaces lining the walls extinguished. It made one feel like something bad was going to happen.

"I have a baaaaad feeling about this." George says as the second phone box carrying everybody else comes.

Together, everybody moved as one group with their wands drawn to the elevator and we took it down to wherever we apparently needed to go. And it turned out that where we were heading was the Department of Mysteries.

"Why are we going to the Department of Mysteries?" I whispered as we walked down the hall to the innocuous looking door at the end of the hall. Innocuous my ass. Whatever was behind that door was anything but innocuous.

"Because we are." Harry replied curtly. Under the curtness I could hear nerves and that just made me feel a little bit worse.


	51. Chapter 050

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I am going to be writing this from my view, my way and not in a way that plagiarizes JK Rowling, because that is bad. Although, you all know that if I use anything from book 5, it is solely hers.

The entire time we crept down the hallway and once we were through the door and just inside the Department of Mysteries, one thing kept running through my head: _Something is going to go wrong, I can feel it._

"God this place looks so eerie." Aideen said in a hushed voice. And once the door had shut, it became even eerier and creepier. The only things we could see were the intermittent blue light of torches on the walls and the slight reflection of ourselves in the floor.

And again, that annoying voice in my head spoke up. _Something is going to go wrong._

"Where are we heading anyway?" Fred whispered as we all moved up the hall as a tightly knit group, with every single wandtip lit.

"The Hall of - Prophecy." Harry says, his voice breaking as we walk into a circular room.

"What the hell?" George said out loud right as the walls or wall of the room started moving. I jumped and grabbed George's arm. Was this room meant to confuse or us or something?

In the glow of wand light, Harry now looked confused. Well, if that was the point of the revolving walls, they had done their job.

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry tried to speak. Had to stop and start a couple of times.

"I don't --" Harry began. He swallowed.

This room was definitely throwing him.

"In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room -- that's this one -- and then I went through another door into a room that kind of . . . glitters. We should try a few doors," he said hastily. "I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon."

Aideen was right. This suddenly had a suicide mission feel to it. But still, Harry was my friend and I'd help him out.

After the darkness of the revolving room, these lamps hanging from the ceiling gave to me the impression that the room was a lot brighter. But it was all still real creepy to me.

"Okay, these are really gross." Aideen said, sounding revolted as we moved further into the 'brighter' room.

"What in the name of all that is holy are they?" I said.

"They're brains." Hermione said.

"Oh that is just disgusting!" I said, backing away from the tank.

Harry knew this wasn't the room we had to go in and when Ron pointed out that this place was huge and there were other doors we could go through in this room, Harry was pretty sure they wouldn't lead us to the room he wanted.

We went back into the circular room, Hermione marked the door to show that was one we'd already come through, Luna shut it and again the wall did its nauseating spinning routine. Thank God I had a strong stomach otherwise I probably would have been puking.

Harry chose the door directly across from him and opened it. This room opened to a deep stone pit. There were these sort of open air tunnels running through the whole room and a strange lone doorway standing in the middle of a stone island.

We went to leave this room and go back to the circular room to try another door, only encountering one teensy-weensy small problem when it came to a stop: The damn door we had come through had locked on us!

"Why does that door not opening make me feel really bad?" Aideen asked no one in particular.

"Let's try another?" Fred suggested hopefully.

" _This is it!_ " Harry said.

"You know. If it wasn't for the fact that we have broken into the Department of Mysteries, in the middle of the night, and this place is exceedingly creepy, I'd say that those-- whatever they are are, they're kinda pretty." I said after we'd walked through the clock room, to get to whatever had caused the diamond-shiny light, which turned out to be some giant glass jar. It had all these pretty swirly colors inside and near the very middle of the jar was an egg that had a very bright jewel-tone to it. And it drifted along in the current inside the glass jar, being carried toward the top. As the egg rose toward the top of the jar, it cracked and broke open, revealing the most beautiful hummingbird I had ever seen. The hummingbird rose to the top of the jar, but as it did so its feathers became damp and bedraggled looking and it fell, going back into the egg.

Harry chivvied us along, which was a good idea as Luna, Ginny and Aideen showed every single sign of wanting to stop and watch the bird reunite with the egg.

"This is it," Harry said. I whipped my wand up at that point. I had never put my wand away, but kept it pointed at the floor, ready to go at a moment's notice. I looked at Hermione's wand hand and she was gripping her wand so tight that her knuckles were going white.

What was going on here? Why was Hermione so nervous? Why the hell were we here in the first place?

"What in the are all these?" Ron asked in an awed whisper.

"They're the prophecy orbs. This is the Hall of Prophecy." George said.

As one we walked down the aisles. Some of these orbs looked really dusty, like no one had come near them in such a long time. Harry was definitely looking for something here. The ten of us walked down row fifty-three and I suddenly had this intense feeling of being watched. And you know that voice in my head that had been quietly nagging me? Yeah, it was screaming at me now. It was screaming at me to be on my guard, that the thing it thought would go wrong was about to happen, that we were all in terrible, terrible danger.

Harry reached up and pulled a dusty orb off the shelf and Hermione winced, as if she was waiting for something to happen.

Then, from behind us, came a voice with a clear drawl. "Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

Oh. Shit.


	52. Chapter 051

Everyone whipped around so fast we should have received one nasty case of whiplash. Out of the blackness, black shapes were emerging. Their eyes showed through the slits in the hoods of their cloaks, and twelve wandtips were pointed at our hearts.

The situation just went from bad to worse.

Twelve Death Eaters to ten young wizards. Yeah, the odds were real good that we would die. Real, REAL good.

There was a funny low ringing in my ears, I could still hear the Death Eaters threatening us, but it was hard to focus on what they were saying. And as they threatened more and tried to cajole and trick Harry into handing over the Prophecy to them.

The ringing in my ears got louder and louder as I became angrier and angrier to the point of where I thought that my eardrums might very well burst.

 _Calm down._ said a ghostly male voice in my head.

 _Godric?_ I thought, very surprised at the sudden unexpected visitor.

 _Yes. It is me. You need to calm yourself down, center yourself, focus your energies and your powers. You will be needing them sooner then you may think you do._

I kept my eyes trained on the Death Eaters and their wands, but I tried to do what Godric told me to. I thought calming thoughts, I breathed evenly -- in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as the ringing in my ears quieted, I heard Harry say to Hermione (under the cover of Death Eater laughter):

(AN: You know the drill with the below. Don't own. Don't sue.)

"Smash shelves--"

"Dumbledore never told you?" Malfoy repeated. "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why--"

"--when I say go--"

Oh this was gonna be fun. This was gonna be lots of fun.

Harry kept Malfoy senior talking, buying time for Hermione to relay the message to everyone else. By the time George barely whispered the plan into my ear, I knew Harry was getting close to saying 'go.'

In fact, he interrupted Lucius Malfoy in the middle of a sentence.

"NOW!" yelled Harry.

" _REDUCTO!_ " We yelled, our wands pointed up around the Death Eaters. The shelves exploded and I brought my arm up to protect my eyes from the glass blowing out.

"RUN!" Harry yelled. He didn't have to tell me twice. We all turned tail and ran like hell, with arms above our heads as the shelves swayed precariously and hundreds of glass orbs broke, the Seer's voices echoing behind us as we ran. A Death Eater came through the glass cloud behind Luna and I punched him square in the nose of his mask and he fell back with a cry of pain.

"Thank you!" Luna yelled.

"No problem!" I yelled back. And we must have gotten separated in the chaos because I suddenly realized I was with Ginny, Luna and George.

"Where are the others?" Ginny said as we all came skidding to a halt.

"Shhh!" I said. They all dutifully fell quiet as I tried to listen for a hint of a sound of where the others had gone.

 _Help me! Please!_ I pleaded in my mind.

 _Go to the brain room._ A female voice that had to have been Rowena's whispered.

 _But which way?_

 _Head away._

Head away? What the hell did that mean?

Then I heard footsteps sneaking along. I whipped around and saw a shape sneaking down a row of prophecies.

" _Impedimenta!_ " I yelled, pointing my wand just over Ginny's head. I didn't wait to see if the jinx had made contact. "Come on!" I said, running away from the Death Eater.

"Where do we go?" George asked.

"The brain room!" I answered.

"But how did you know where to go?" Luna asked.

"I had a little help!"

We ran the hell out of the Hall of Prophecy. I resolved that when this was over, if any of us made it out alive, I would never again set foot in the Ministry for as long as I lived. And neither would my children. We made it to the brain room.

"RON!" I yelled. He'd already been half dragged into the tank.

" _RELASHIO! IMPEDIMENTA! STUPEFY! CORPORA LASHIO! DIFFINDO!_ " I bellowed every jinx and curse that came to mind and fired them all over and over at the brain that was trying to drown Ron in the tank. It released Ron and Ginny and George pulled him out. But then there was a cry from Ginny and she released Ron and fell over, clutching her ankle.

And that's the point where everything seems to become a blur for me. I don't know why my brain cannot remember what happened as clearly as it can before and after, but all I know is that part of the fight is a giant blur. The next thing I can clearly remember was when we were back in the room with the lone doorway.

The fighting in the room with the strange lone doorway was intense and fast and furious. I had already taken down two of the Death Eaters with Sectumsempra; their allies and supposed 'brothers' were too busy trying to kill us to notice some people bleeding to death.

It was going pretty bad for us: I had narrowly avoided (by my last count) seven Killing Curses and three Cruciatus Curses. Ron was kinda just out there and doing his best, Neville had joined the fight after Hermione and Aideen had gotten him quickly patched up; the kid was a furious fighter and I woulda never known it, Harry and Fred were dueling Lucius Malfoy and trying their best and I had lost track of the others long ago.

Just when I felt like appealing to my ancestors for a bit of help, help arrived. Wizards came streaming through the door and down the steps and the tide of the fight started taking a turn in our favor.

And then I caught sight of Aideen. Dueling my ex-father. I couldn't hear the spells and curses they were using over the noise of everyone else, but I saw their mouths moving in the shape of the spells.


	53. Chapter 052

And then it felt like everything went into slo-mo; and it felt like I saw it happen seconds before it did. Aideen's foot slipped on an uneven part of the flooring and my ex-father took his chance. He hit Aideen with some powerful curse that sent her flying through the veil. Our eyes connected for the briefest of seconds and I swear Aideen looked almost peaceful. But that still didn't stop me and Fred, apparently, from screaming.

"AIDEEN!"

And almost like I was under someone else's control, I ran through the fighting, right inbetween some dueling wizards in some cases, and I ran for that curtain. I was going in there and getting my best friend back.

And right as I went to run through the curtain, someone grabbed me and dragged me backward.

"Let me go! Let me go! I've got to get Aideen!" I screamed, clawing at the arm of the person who had me with my wand-free hand. My wand itself was spitting out sparks so red they looked like blood.

"No! Once you go through that veil there is no coming back!" A male voice tried reasoning with me. The part of my brain that was still functioning rationally recognized Professor Lupin's voice.

"She's my best friend, I have to go get her!" I yelled, still trying to get away. I could vaguely hear another man trying to reason with Fred as well.

"Two down, one to go. Now, where is that boyfriend of yours?"

I stopped struggling immediately. So did Fred. We both stopped when we heard what Thomas had said. And that was when the the bitch of all bitches took over in me. Over my dead body was he killing the one person whose life I valued above my own. I tossed my wand to my other hand so I could actually aim and I cursed with all my might.

" _AVADA KEDAVRA_!!" He stumbled so the curse shot over his head, but when it collided with the wall, there was a great rumbling noise and the whole room shook from the strength of the curse. Thomas dropped into the little open-air tunnels that ran throughout this room. I took off after him me and Fred both chased Thomas all through out this mini-maze of tunnels, firing curses and spells every chance we could. We chased Thomas out of the room and back the way we had originally come and back into the hall with all the prophecies. And then I remembered Hermione had sealed the doors so no one could follow us.

Which also meant the only way out was past me and Fred. Excellent. He was trapped.

" _Crucio!_ " Thomas yelled, desperately trying to hit us.

" _Protego Maximus!_ " I yelled in return, quickly stepping in front of Fred. Another charm I had created that was probably illegal. The curse bounced harmlessly off and shot off down one aisle. "There's no way out."

"You're trapped and you won't make it out of here alive." Fred says, coming to stand next to me and looking absolutely murderous.

"You would not dare. Use of the Unforgivables warrants an immediate life sentence in Azkaban."

"Not when we're using it to stop a killer before he can hurt more people we love." Fred says, the look on his face akin to mine: hatred and savage anger.

" _Accio wand!_ " Thomas' wand came flying out of his hand and into mine. I stuck my wand behind my ear and Fred kept his wand trained on Thomas whilst I snapped the offending bastard's wand in two. I tossed the useless halves to the ground; they made the most pathetic clacking noise on the wood. "Good-bye Thomas. May you rot in the worst hell reserved for murderers." I said coldly.

As one, me and Fred did it. " _Avada Kedavra._ "

Twin beams of green light hit Thomas in the chest and the force of the curse sent him flying back into a shelve of prophecies, knocking that and another shelf back and shattering several hundred of the orbs.

"Come on! The Order'll need everyone they can get!" Fred said. We sprinted out of the room and back to the room with the doorway.

"The Order? What's the Order?"

"The Order of the Phoenix. They're dead set against Voldemort and they do everything in their power to stop him." Fred explained as we ran.

"Sweet, where can I sign up?" I asked as we ran through the door.

"I don't know. I am not the person to talk to." We heard fighting from the Brain Room and we ran that way. In time to get bowled over by Bellatrix Lestrange. She turned to curse us but missed as Fred grabbed me and dropped into one of the open air tunnels, I landed on one of my left arm funny and I heard it snap.

"That wasn't good." I said as Fred helped me up.

"No, but come on, I saw Harry go after her. Bellatrix Lestrange will fight dirty." We got back up onto higher ground and George came out of the Brain Room and the three of us ran.

"Oh my God." Fred barely breathed when we made it to the Atrium.

Quickly, I threw myself into a fireplace and Fred and George hid behind a wall. We watched as Voldemort fought Dumbledore and Bellatrix Lestrange screamed for her her 'Master', trapped under one of the statues that had come to life.

Then Volemort disappeared. And when Dumbledore told Harry to stay still, I started to realize what happened. _My God, he's possessed Harry._

Then we dared to sneak closer. All of a sudden the fireplaces flared to life with green flames and wizards came pouring out. George, Fred and I joined the group and acted like we were supposed to be there.

Fudge went into a dither when he saw Voldemort. And then he went into a second even bigger dither when he realized that Dumbledore was there (which was actually rather disturbing that he cared more that Dumbledore was there then Voldemort). He demanded that Dumbledore be arrested (the exact words were 'seize him!').

Then the gist of what Dumbledore said to him was 'Don't make me fight your people again because they'll lose'. And that was when I got pissed.

"And he's not going to be alone." I said, moving out of the crowd to stand next to Dumbledore.

"No, he isn't." George said, him and Fred coming to stand next to me and Dumbledore respectively.

"And who the hell are you?" Fudge said, losing the politician mask.

"No one to be concerned with." I said. I was going to be as unhelpful as it was humanly possible to be.

"What makes you think you can fight us? You have a broken arm." One Auror said, sounding rather disdainful.

"Because it's not my wand arm, genius." I said, sneering and twirling my wand between the fingers on my good arm.

Then Dumbledore put his hand on my good shoulder. "I appreciate the gesture and action, Miss Martin, but that isn't necessary. You have an injury that should be seen to."

"Yes, Professor." I said, backing down. Then I caught look of Fudge's face. "Don't look so surprised Fudge, I respect people who deserve and have earned my respect. Dumbledore has. You, not so much."

Gah, being a bitch to him was too much fun. Fudge's face went puce and I almost started laughing.

"Miss Martin, Madam Pomfrey will be in the Hospital Wing patching everyone up, why don't you head there now?" Dumbledore raised his wand and the grate lit up with green flames.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore." I said, walking off and around the group of witches and wizards who looked like they'd had the rug pulled out from under and the wool pulled off their eyes.

I stepped into the fire. "Hogwarts Hospital Wing!" I got whizzed away, jerked this way and that until I landed in the fireplace of the Hospital Wing.

"Ah, and what is wrong with you?" Madam Pomfrey said as I walked out of the fireplace.

"I got a broken arm." I said.

Madam Pomfrey brandished her wand and with an incantation said, my bones healed just like that. She led me to a bed where Ginny was and I sat down on the end.

"How are you?" She asked.


	54. Chapter 053

"Give me twenty-four hours or an hour and I'll probably be a crying wreck." I told Ginny truthfully. Madam Pomfrey came back with a block of chocolate that looked massive to me and I took it and nibbled off a corner, just to placate her.

"Did He get away?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yeah. But not before Fudge and half the Ministry it seemed like got a good look at him. And still Fudge tried to deny it."

"He is an idiot." Ginny said.

"More like the village idiot. Ginny, he went into more of a tizzy over _Dumbledore_ being there, then he did over Voldemort." She flinched, but only mildly. "Fudge tried to have him arrested," I said, a wry smile crossing my face. "And Dumbledore told him basically that if he -- Dumbledore, I mean -- had to fight the Aurors again, he'd win. And then I said he wouldn't be alone and went and stood next to Dumbledore and George and Fred came and stood next to us too."

"That's sounds like you and my brothers." Ginny says, sounding proud.

"Mm." I said as I bit off another piece of the chocolate.

"Well, now we sit back and see what happens I suppose." Ginny says, leaning back against the iron headboard.

"Yeah, I guess we do."

A little while after George and Fred came to get me and check on Ginny and Ron. Ron, god knows what had happened to him, but he was still a little wacky and a little out of it.

I was right in the assumption I made to Ginny. But I was wrong too. It took me less then an hour. As soon as I stepped in the door I burst into tears. Fred went straight to his and Aideen's room and George and I stood in the front hall, he holding me while I bawled my eyes out into his chest.

George picked me up after my tears had petered out -- and no one knows how long that took -- and carried me to our room. We lay on our sides on our bed. George was flush up against my back and he had an arm over my waist and I rested my head on my arm that was folded up under my head.

We were completely silent. George eventually fell asleep, I could hear his breathing behind me, even and gentle. I lay awake for a long time, just staring at the wall. I kept my mind blank and if I hadn't, I probably would have gone insane.

I think my body won out around five o'clock or so. George was still sleeping and I had just started hearing snoring coming from across the hall. My body demanded rest and I fell asleep as the sun was setting.

And again, the next few days became a big ol' blur. When I try to remember, it's all colors, emotions, crying -- I can remember how much I cried. Sometimes George would be there to comfort me, sometimes it would be Fred and both of us would be crying.

I started losing weight because I wasn't eating. I just couldn't bring myself to eat. I did sometimes force something down me -- whether through just putting it in my mouth to keep George off my back or he literally sat on me and wouldn't get off until I agreed to eat something.

A couple weeks after Aideen had been killed, an owl, a really old one showed up at the flat. George and Fred had gone out to Madam Malkin's to get fitted for their robes that they would wear when working. I was napping on the couch in the living room when I heard a tapping on the glass of the front door.

It woke me up and I rose and went to the front door. This old owl that looked like it was going gray, was hovering in the air, a letter clutched in its beak. The owl flew in when I opened door and landed on my shoulder. I took the letter out of its beak and walked into the kitchen and got it a bowl of water. He hooted and dipped his beak into the bowl. Belle flew in the window and joined the older owl on the counter and hooted at me before dipping her beak in too.

"Hey, pretty bird." I said, absently stroking the feathers on her head. Belle let out another hoot and nuzzled her head into my hand. I stroked her head one more time before I unsealed the letter and pulled it out of the envelope. I unfolded the parchment and read the letter and I had just finished reading when I heard the door open.

"Gwen?" George called out.

"In the kitchen." I said. The old owl had looked up at George's voice. Belle fluttered up onto my shoulder and Errol took a last drink before flying up to land on my shoulder as George and Fred walked in the kitchen.

"Errol?" Fred said upon walking into the kitchen.

"Is that what this bird is named?" I asked as I stroked under Errol's chin.

"Yeah, he's sorta a family bird. What's he doing here?" George said as Errol transferred himself to Fred's shoulder.

"Bringing a letter from your mum. She's inviting us to come and spend a couple days at the Burrow and we'll be there for her birthday. If we go." I said, holding up the letter.

All of a sudden George's face lit up. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" His fist punched the air as Fred and I looked at him with cocked eyebrows.

"Have you finally gone off your duff?" Fred asked his brother.

"No." George said to Fred before turning to me. "If you think I'm bad about making you eat, wait till my mother gets ahold of you!"

~Week After~

"Oi, Gwen, are you ready to go?"

"Just a second." I called to Fred. I grabbed my last robe and put it in my bag and zipped it up. For travel I preferred wearing Muggle attire with a travelling cloak over that.

"Belle?" I called to the corner of our room. She flew out of her cage and landed on my arm. "You know where the Burrow is because that is where I'll be for the next few days." Belle hooted at me and flew out the open window. I shut the window in my room and grabbed my bag.

"Finallyyyyyyyy, why do you women take so long to get ready?" George moaned as I walked down the hall.

"Because I can." I said. We left the flat and once on the street, we turned and Apparated to the Burrow. One of the first things Aideen and I had agreed upon when we started taking Apparition lessons was that neither of us was likely to get used to the sensation of having the living schnikey squeezed out of us.


	55. Chapter 054

We appeared outside the Burrow and walked up the drive. Mrs. Weasley came out the back door and she waited until we were only a few feet away before running up to her sons and crushing them both together in a hug that look like it busted the wind right out of them.

"Gwen, it is so nice to see you!" Mrs. Weasley said, turning her attention on me and giving me a hug I thought might break my ribs. But I didn't mind. Since it had become clear to her that George and I were serious about each other -- having been together for almost a year now -- Mrs. Weasley had taken to treating me like a second daughter.

"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Weasley," I said, and I meant it too.

"Look at you! You're practically skin and bone! Come inside and we'll get a snack whipped up." She had an arm around my waist and practically propelled me indoors. A look over my shoulder confirmed George smirking at me in a 'I told you so' way.

I got seated at the kitchen table and Mrs. Weasley started bustling around the kitchen, turning on the stove, filling a pot up with water from the sink and setting that on the stove.

"I told you so." George said, smiling and swooping down to give me a quick kiss on the lips.

"Shut up. Smugness does not do you any favors."

"No." George says, leaning in to kiss me again.

"Okay, come on. Seriously. You two are like a pair of freaking rabbits in heat with the kissing thing." Fred said.

"Sorr-ree." George said, enunciating and drawing the word out.

"Mum, where do we put our stuff? Because right now, I just wanna take a nap." Fred asked in a tired voice.

"Oh, I prepared your room for you. I put the boxes you had said to leave alone in Percy's room so there's enough room for all three of you." Mrs. Weasley said.

"OK. Thanks." And with that, Fred grabs my bag and George's along with his and takes them all upstairs.

"Here you are Gwen, a nice hot bowl of onion soup."

"Thank you." I said. "It smells delicious." I added that one to be polite.

"Thank you for the compliment, Gwendolyn." Mrs. Weasley said, smiling.

"Call me Gwen." I said, picking up the spoon and dipping it into the bowl of soup. Mrs. Weasley nodded. I don't really like my full name, I think it sound way too formal. I think my mum picked it because of some Muggle legend that she thought was cute, but she's the only person I would ever let call me Gwen. Not even George called me Gwendolyn when he got mad at me for not eating anything.

"Mum, can I have a small bowl of that too?" George asks, finally pulling his face away from the doorway Fred had vacated the kitchen from.

"Of course you can, George, dear." Mrs. Weasley got him another bowl and I ate some more of the soup.

I ate/drank (Never could figure out if you ate soup or you drank it) more of the soup then I thought I would; all I could really say was that Mrs. Weasley was an amazing cook.

"Mum, have I ever told you how much I love you?" George says to his mother after not-so-sneakily taking a peek at how much soup was in my bowl to see it was two-thirds empty, at least.

"George, what have you done now?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering if I'd told you I loved you lately." He said, getting up and giving his mother a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Man, he really was happy his mother had gotten me to eat. Mrs. Weasley just looked bewildered and confused.

"He's really happy because as of right now, this bowl of soup is the most I've probably eaten in two to three days." I explained to her.

"Two to three days?!"

"I'll explain later." George says, casting his mother a warning eye as she looked completely ready to start bombarding me and George with questions.

"Mrs. Weasley, do you think you could give me the recipe for this soup? I'd love to try it out on Fred and George."

"Good luck trying it on Fred, he hates onions." Mrs. Weasley said, snorting. "But yes, I will get you the recipe before you leave. If I can remember where I put it." She added more to herself then me.

"So, where is everybody?" George asked.

"Bill's at work, Fleur too --"

"Yippee! Gwen doesn't have to meet her yet!" George said.

"Why's that name so familiar?" I asked George.

"Remember the Triwizard Tournament? She was the Beauxbatons champion. She and Bill are like this now," George says, entwining his pointer and middle finger together.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Mrs. Weasley said, attempting to sound admonishing, but failing with the puppy dog looks George was giving her, "Bill and Fleur are at work, so is your father, and I believe Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione are out at the orchard playing two-on-two Quidditch."

"Thanks, mum." George said. "Do you wanna go take a walk over to the orchard?" The last was directed at me.

I looked down at my bowl, which still had soup in it, and then back up at George. "Can I finish my soup first?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure!" He said, sounding ridiculously enthusiastic about me finishing a bowl of soup.

I ate what was left in the bowl and George and I deposited our bowls in the sink before walking out the kitchen door.

We walked as we usually did: hand in hand, our fingers laced together. George was slightly in front of me and I was following him because he knew the way and I didn't. We walked along some dirt path and through some old, gnarled apple trees in silence. Not an uncomfortable one, but the most comfortable silence we'd had since the night my great-great-great-etc. grandmother had shown up in the kitchen of our flat.

"I scared you, didn't I?" I quietly asked George. There was no need to ask what I had scared him about. We both knew what I was referring to.


	56. Chapter 055

"You did. You really did. I thought that you would continue to eat nothing but the bare minimum and I would be forced to watch the woman I love waste away."

"I'm sorry." I said, extricating my hand from his to wrap my arms around him.

"I know." George said, wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on top of mine. "I'm just glad to have you returning back to some semblance of normal."

"We're normal?" I asked, pulling back to look at him in the face, like it had just occurred to me we were or weren't normal.

"Well, no, but I like this Gwen better then the one I had to yell at to get her to eat." George says, leaning down and pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"Weird as this may sound, I realized last night when I was asleep that Aideen wouldn't want me to be feeling and acting like I have. I can still miss and mourn and grieve for my best friend, but without the attempted killing myself via starvation."

"I think that does not sound weird at all." George says. "This is better then what you did after the memorial."

I winced slightly. That was not my proudest moment. I had spent the morning after the memorial with my head in the toilet, hearing Fred when I wasn't puking, because we had both gotten friggen hammered by chugging Ogden's Firewhiskey.

"And I promise that will not be happening again."

"Good." George lowered his face to mine and we kissed briefly before we walked up through the orchard to where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were.

"Hermione, you are absolutely horrible!" I shouted up to her after she dropped the Quaffle and Ginny smacked her hand to her forehead.

"I know I am!" Hermione said. She tipped the broom she was using slightly toward the ground and gently (and slowly) came down.

"How are you?" Hermione asked once she'd gotten off her broom (and looking rather glad she was off too).

"I'm fine. You?"

"Likewise. And now I am going to go sit under that tree and not try to kill myself." Hermione says, handing George the broom and walking off to sit under a big old apple tree. She opened the book she'd picked up while walking away and opened it and started reading.

"I'm going to guess she was not enjoying herself." George says as the other three come down too.

"No, not really." Harry says, smiling.

"I'll step in for her." George offers.

"And I'm out because George can play dirty." Ron says, handing me his broom.

"OK, and it looks like I'm stepping in for Ron." I said.

And that was how we spent a rather pleasant afternoon, playing two-a-side Quidditch. We were pretty evenly matched, so there would be a lot of playful ribbing along with trying to actually beat our opponents.

By the time Mrs. Weasley had yelled for supper we were pretty much in a dead heat, neck-in-neck. So, we called it a tie and headed in for dinner. When we actually got back to the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley asked us to help move dinner out to the garden, since the kitchen was too small to contain all eleven of us. George and I took care of the tables, Harry, Ron and Ginny took care of the cutlery and Bill, Mrs. Weasley and Fleur brought out the dishes.

"Where's Fred?" Bill asked his mum.

"He said he wasn't hungry and he just wanted to sleep." Mrs. Weasley said, frowning.

"Not hungry my ass." George muttered under his breath.

"Where's your bedroom?" I whispered in George's ear.

"Third floor, last on the right before the stairs." He whispered back.

"Mrs. Weasley, where's your bathroom?" I asked.

"Upstairs, second door on the right."

"Thank you." I said, excusing myself. I went in the house, totally not intending to use the toilet at all. I walked up to the third floor and knocked on the door George had directed me to.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"We are sharing this room for the next few days." Fred says wryly.

I took that as a yes and opened the door and stepped inside. "Your mum's cooked some really fantastic food, you know."

"I know. I just don't feel like socializing or eating. I just wanna try and catch up on sleep."

"Fred, that's a load of hooey and you know it is. Separating yourself from people isn't going to make you feel any better about losing Aideen. Do you think she'd want you to be doing this? Hiding from the people who can make you feel better and who are your family?"

"That is a low blow." Fred says.

"I am very good at those, and you know it. Though I must admit, administering that low blow to Malfoy was my favorite one. But that isn't the point and I'm getting off track. I realized that Aideen wouldn't want me to be acting like I have and frankly, I've come to think of the way I've been feeling and acting for the past few weeks as an insult to her memory. If you're afraid of forgetting her, you have pictures and she'll always be there with you when you need her. There will be good days and there will be bad days, but you can't just... stop living."

"When did you become an agony aunt?"

"Since you holed yourself up in here."

Fred nodded, acknowledging my point. "Fine. I'll come down and eat." He gets up off the bed and follows me out of the room. And we've made it to the first floor of the house when Fred grabs my pants, yanks them down and runs like the wind out the door.

"Get back here you little shit!" I yelled, pulling my pants back up and running after him.

"I am going to shove your wand so far up your ass your future nieces and nephews will be able to feel it!" It was a hollow, empty threat and Fred knew it, but he still ran like hell.

"Yeah, that's gonna make me wanna stop!" Fred yells back sarcastically.

He runs for the low wall that separates the Weasley property from the meadow behind the house and I'm right behind him and no doubt everybody is wondering what the hell is going on.

Fred jumps the wall and I jumped it and we were racing through the meadow and I was bit by bit gaining ground on him. I jumped as we were cresting a small hill and caught Fred around the waist. We went crashing in to the ground and rolling over and over.

"So, ready for me to shove your wand up your ass?"

"No." Fred says.

"Good, because I don't think I can until I get the wind back in my lungs."

Fred laughed and I got up, offering a hand to help him up.

"What in the name of all that is holy was that?" George asked as we climbed over the wall and back into the garden.


	57. Chapter 056

"Your darling brother pantsied me." I said, clapping George on the shoulder. Hard.

"You did what?!" Mrs. Weasley said. Apparently Mrs. Weasley was not unfamiliar with the concept of pantsying.

"We were the only two people in the house!" Fred protests as I sit down and start filling my plate up with all the food I could reach.

"What did you do?" George leans over and whispers in my ear.

"I just talked to him."

"Thanks for having an epiphany about how Aideen wouldn't you to be feeling like you have and talking my brother out of his freaky funk." George says, pressing a kiss to my temple.

"Your welcome." I said. For a time there was just people eating the food, which was delicious.

"Fleur, have you met Gwen?" Bill asked later, after dessert had been served and eaten and Fleur and I were helping Mrs. Weasley clear up the dishes.

"No, I 'ave not." Fleur said, sounding as if she considered this a great oversight that we hadn't been introduced.

The next thing I know I have been besieged by the blonde (part Veela according to everybody who's told me about her) and I got kissed on each cheek and hugged.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said.

Ginny came into the kitchen and I mouthed 'help me' over Fleur's shoulder.

"Uh, Gwen, George wants a word with you about something."

"Did he say what?" I asked.

"Uh, no, he just asked me since I was coming down if I would come and tell you."

"Thanks, Ginny. I'll be right back." I said to Mrs. Weasley and Fleur. I followed Ginny out the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"No problem. Everyone needs to be rescued from Phlegm every now and again."

"Phlegm?"

"Play on Fleur." Ginny explains.

"Ah." We seperated at Ginny's room and I kept on going up to the third floor.

"Have I mentioned your sister is a lovely lady and a quick thinker?" I asked George and Fred when I walked in to the room.

"Huh?" Was the response I got.

"Bill decided to ask Fleur if we had been introduced and we hadn't and I got attacked."

"Oh, you got the hug and double kiss?" Fred asked.

"Yeah." I said. "It scared me."

"Awwwww, I'm sorry you got scared by the big bad Fleur." George says in a baby voice, pulling me in close and patting my head.

"Shut up dorkface." I said, pushing his hand off my head.

"I'm going to get changed for bed. You two have until I get back to play out the stupid spat here." Fred says, grabbing his pajamas and leaving the room.

"Have I told you that I love you today?" George asked, taking my face in his hands and giving me a quick kiss.

"You just did." I pointed out.

"Well, I'll tell you again: I love you. And you are amazing. And I was right." George punctuated each sentence with a peck on the lips.

"What were you right about?"

"'Wait till my mum gets ahold of you.' I said that before we came here. Or words to that effect."

"Yes, you were right. And I was wrong. Feel better now?"

"Much." After that George released my face and we got ready for bed. We'd been together long enough that changing in front of the other didn't bother us anymore. Fred came back in and George and I got into the bigger bed and Fred doused the lights with a wave of his wand before climbing into his bed.

~The Next Morning~

Fred and George disappeared for a few hours the morning after our arrival, which was also Mrs. Weasley's birthday. They said it was so they could go get her present, which they couldn't bring to the Burrow until Mrs. Weasley's birthday for fear of her discovering it early.

Ginny, Hermione and I made Mrs. Weasley breakfast; Fleur was still asleep upstairs and we'd left her like that. Mrs. Weasley kept saying we should let her help and she'd only do a tiny bit of work and it wouldn't really be like work at all. We said no each time. And we only burned the eggs once -- that one was all Ginny. She got distracted by Pig, who was either her's or Ron's owl. Tiny Feather Tennisball, that's what I call him.

Fred and George returned around lunch, carrying a couple of bags and told us that no one was allowed to look in them until tonight. By that time, Fleur was up and she helped make lunch -- or hinder making lunch because Ginny spent a lot of time glaring at Fleur's back. I couldn't blame her. Sharing a room with her could not have been that much fun. And what I had seen of Fleur so far had taught me that she fairly shallow, pretty vain and totally obsessed with herself when Bill wasn't around. What he saw in her, I had no idea. I had caught her more then once staring at her reflection in the back of a spoon.

Yeah, so far I wasn't impressed with Miss Delacour.

Mr. Weasley and Bill came home a bit earlier then normal for Mrs. Weasley's birthday (though they had to wait a bit for dinner, again under my, Ginny, Hermione's and Fleur's total control) and again we ate in the garden under the stars. We were lucky we'd been blessed with such beautiful warm and balmy weather.

By the light of dozens of paper lanterns floating above our heads, we ate all of Mrs. Weasley's favorite food.

"Who made the spaghetti bolonaise?" I asked the table in general several minutes into dinner.

"I did." Fleur said, sounding proud of herself.

And not that her ego needed the inflation, but I was about to inflate it some more.

"This is really good, Fleur. Normally I absolutely hate spaghetti bolonaise because of the amount of garlic there is in it, but this tastes pretty good."

"I dislike garlic also. So I seemply cut down on ze amount zat went into ze recipe."

"Not a bad idea." I remarked, before shoving another forkful in my mouth.

"This is good." said an incredulous sounding Ginny after she'd taken a forkful from Harry's plate, which he seemed pretty darn okay with her doing.

"Thank you, Ginny." Fleur said. "And thank you, Gwen." I think Mrs. Weasley had previously instructed Fleur on the fact that I didn't like being called Gwendolyn.

Once dinner had been cleared away, Mrs. Weasley sat in a chair at the head of the many tables and had her presents set before her. And of course, she liked every single one. She got an Everlasting Rose from Mr. Weasley in white, all the Lockhart books and all the other ones she consulted when she had a household problem to deal with, she got a new set of those from Harry, Ron and Hermione. Bill and Fleur had gotten her some silvery necklace from France. Charlie had sent Mrs. Weasley some top knotch yarn and needles from Romania. Ginny had, on her own, made her mother a new shawl out of a warm brown and green wool. And Fred, George and I had gotten Mrs. Weasley a set of Witch's hats for every day of the week and a golden pendant necklace that all the names of her children carved on there. Minus Percy, but I don't think she noticed because she was so overwhelmed by the gifts she'd received.

"Oh, thank you all so much for these magnificent presents. They're so amazing."

"Care for a few more, Molly?"


	58. Chapter 057

"Remus!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, clearly surprised -- but pleasantly so -- to see Professor Lupin crashing her birthday party. And he wasn't the only one there. Tonks was also there, as was Mad-Eye Moody,Kingsley Shacklebolt and Dumbledore. Good thing then that we had decided that eating out in the garden would be the best.

Mrs. Weasley jumped up from her chair of honor and went to greet them all. Mad-Eye and Kingsley led her back to her seat after she'd greeted everybody individually and enthusiastically. And she was presented with some more presents. Tonks had been first, ever the enthusiastic one, she bounced forward and said that her present was from her and Lupin, and Lupin earned a thump from Tonks when he tried to say (I'm guessing) that Tonks had got it herself and he'd had no part in it. Mad-Eye got Mrs. Weasley something to do with Dark Wizard detecting that looked very dangerous and vaguely deadly looking, but Mrs. Weasley said thank you all the same. Kingsley gave to her this massive and I mean MASSIVE book of recipes for just about anything and it's brother and Dumbledore got Mrs. Weasley this silvery instrument thingy that looked pretty and emitted very prettily colored smoke.

And, even though it was her birthday, Mrs. Weasley did make sure that the newcomers to the party had gotten a plate of food. And again Fleur's spaghetti bolonaise met with more glowing remarks.

After awhile, Fred and George looked around to see how many people were done. They apparently estimated the number high enough, because they stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and thanks for coming to our mum's birthday dinner because she is the best mum ever!" Fred started off with. Mrs. Weasley went extremely red from a combination of pride and embarrassment, I think.

"To cap off an absolutely lovely evening, complete with excellent dinner; thank you, Ginny, Hermione, Gwen and Fleur," George said, indicating each of us in turn. "We have a surprise for everybody."

"We'll be right back." The twins ran into the house and everybody suddenly looked at me, clearly expecting me to know what they were up to.

"What are they up to?" Ron asked.

"Search me if I know." I said.

Mad-Eye Moody smirked, as if he knew what in the bag that Fred and George were carrying, but wasn't going to tell. Or he could have been full on smiling for all I know, it's hard to tell, because he is so covered in scars.

Fred and George came back out carrying a bag between them. And living with them and working with them, this bag only made me that much more suspicious of what was going on.

"Excuse us for a moment." Fred said. And then there was a barrier between them and us.

"Gwen, could you come here for a second?" George called out.

I got up and went behind the barrier and then I wondered why I hadn't figured out what was in the bag before.

"OHhhh!" I said when I rounded the barrier.

"Shhh!" Fred said as George clapped his hand over my mouth before I could say anymore.

The boys had brought out a bag full of their fireworks. "Nice idea." I said once George had released my mouth.

"Of course it is." Fred said.

"Okay, we need you to drop the curtain here when we've set up the fireworks so that the second the curtain drops, BOOM go the fireworks!" George explains.

"No problem." I said, nodding my head. Quickly the boys set up the fireworks display and I waited patiently while they did so.

"Okay, on the count of three. One--" George started.

"--Two--" said Fred.

"THREE!" Fred, George, and I shouted. And when we shouted three, the curtain fell and the first of the fireworks shot off.

Over the next several minutes, there were many 'oohs' and 'aahs' and 'ohs' as Fred and George set off firework after firework. My personal favorite was when a Catherine Wheel firework collided with a Roman rocket and these blue little baby pigs with wings got made and started flying around.

But the finale was pretty damn cool too. There were two fireworks left. At the same time, Fred and George set them off and once they exploded, they revealed two dragons, red and gold. They danced in the sky, flying and twirling around each other until they collided and became one dragon, red and gold, kinda like a Chinese Fireball. The dragon flew off into the sky and turned around and flew right for us, swooping low over the table before it exploded into a shower of color over the garden, spelling out 'Happy Birthday, Mum'.

"That was amazing Fred, George! I loved it!" Mrs. Weasley shouted when the show had ended. She jumped up and embraced her twin sons again in a hug that looked like it crushed the air out of them.

"We love you too, mum." Fred said in a strained voice.

"Yeah, especially when you aren't trying to kill us." George choked out.

"I'm sorry."

Mrs. Weasley backed off, but leveled this look at George. I had no idea what was going on, but apparently George did.

"You want me to do it now?" He says, sounding incredulous.

Now I am really interested in finding out what is going on. So is Ginny, who I had just been talking to about the Harpies and Gwenog Jones. We both drop off the conversation and just plain old stare at George and Mrs. Weasley.

"What does he want her to do now?" I whispered.

"I have _no_ idea. None at all." Ginny whispered in reply.

"Mum, it's your birthday party--"

"And I can do what I want to on my birthday, can't I?"

And George suddenly looks very, very nervous. He leaves his mother and walked over to me.

"Gwen, could I have a word with you in the house?"

"Sure." I said. George gently took my hand and he lead me across the garden into the house and through the kitchen, not stopping until we were in the living room, which was pretty darn far from the garden.

Which, in retrospect, may have been the point of being lead into the living room.

"Um, there's a reason Fred and I were gone for a couple hours this morning. I mean, yeah, we did have to get my mum's present and the fireworks, but I had to make a pitstop at the Ministry to go and talk to your aunt."

Okay, officially confused over here. But I waited for George to go on and explain what this was about.

"And that was what took the majority of the time. Talking to your aunt, I mean. Because, I went to the Ministry, even though I swore to never again set foot in that building, because I wanted to ask your aunt's permission."

 _Permission? For what?_ I wondered.

"Gwen," George cleared his throat and he suddenly took my hands in his and went down on one knee, which made my jaw hit the floor. "Will you marry me?"


	59. Chapter 058

I screamed then. I honest to goodness screamed. Because, I just wasn't expecting this.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, a million times yes!" I yelled. I yanked George up by his hands and threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tight, totally crying by this point.

And when everyone ran in the house to investigate the source of the screaming (me), with their wands drawn and jinxes and defensive spells no doubt on the tips of their tongues, what did they find? A pair of teenagers, recently engaged, but teenagers nonetheless, making out.

"Whoa! Hanky-panky in the living room!" Fred said, stowing his wand.

"We heard screaming, are you okay, Gwen?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm absolutely fine."

"Then why did it sound like somebody was getting murdered in here?" Ginny asked as everybody stowed their wands.

"Because-" George and I looked at each other and broke out smiling.

"Because they're engaged." Bill said, putting two and two together.

"SAY WHAT?!" Ron, Ginny, Fred, Mr. Weasley and Harry shouted.

"Well, it's either that or Gwen's pregnant. But since _George_ was the one who asked to have a word with _Gwen_ , my money's on the engagement. So, congratulations, you two."

Bill walked forward and hugged me and shook George's hand.

"Are you serious?" Ron asked, looking thunderstruck.

"Yes, I know it's shocking, but I did ask Gwen to marry me and she did say yes... Seven times." George said in quite the wry and sarcastic tone of voice.

"You counted?" I asked, finally slightly shocked off of cloud nine.

"Yup. I sure did."

"That's why you looked so damn nervous before you asked Gwen to come into the house with you!" Ginny says, putting that piece of the puzzle into place.

"Yeah. I was going to do it tomorrow because I didn't want to do it at mum's birthday dinner, but she said that she was okay with it. So, ask I did."

"I am the birthday girl after all. Why not make my birthday an even more joyous occasion then with an engagement?" Mrs. Weasley says, walking into the room.

"A very good point, Molly." Dumbledore says, speaking up for the first time.

After that it seemed like the party had even lighter, happier air then before. Dumbledore conjured up more paper lanterns to replace those ruined by Fred and George's dragon and they played some kind of big band music. I got spun around the garden for what felt like a very long time by George, Fred (who kept trying to lift me up in the air so he could toss me to George), Bill, Mr. Weasley and Tonks.

Well, Tonks and I didn't twirl and spin so much as create our own dance off the top of our heads and do it right then and there. And that one had everyone in stitches as, somehow, by the end of the dance Tonks had ended up sitting on my shoulders.

"Help- Knees cannot support the weight of two fully-grown women." I said in this very halting and dramatic voice. And to add to my words my knees started bending involuntarily under the pressure of supporting me and Tonks and trying to walk at the same time.

Actually smiling, Lupin stood up and I hung on to Tonk's ankles so she wouldn't unexpectedly fall, should she slip while she leaned back until Lupin had her. Then she just slid off.

Around midnight we all called it a night. Fleur and I got carried inside by our respective fiancees. Fleur honest to goodness asked to be carried. George just picked me up without asking; in his words I had been falling asleep at the table and he knew I wouldn't make it to his old bedroom.

"Congratulations you guys, seriously. I wish you guys all the best." Fred said before we all fell asleep.

"Thank you." I said.

"Yeah, we appreciate the congratulations and such like that." George said. Ever the comedian that one is, always trying to lighten the mood and keep it fun.

~The Next Morning~

I woke up around nine the next morning, rolled over, and no George. My hands closed on sheets and sheets only. I rolled over just to verify the scent of touch with the scent of sight, and of course, it got confirmed that I was all alone in the bed.

Fred was still asleep in the bed across from us. I called out his name, several times and he didn't wake up. So I grabbed one of George's pillows and chucked it as hard as I could (I was at an odd angle not conducive to a strong throw) at Fred's head. I did make contact and wake him up.

"Wuzzgoinnnonnnnnnnnnn?" Fred yawned.

"Where'd George go?" I asked.

"No idea. I was still asleep like you were when he left." Then Fred tossed George's pillow back and went back to sleep himself.

I got out of bed and went downstairs. Mrs. Weasley was already up and making breakfast for Ginny and Hermione.

"Good morning." Mrs. Weasley said when I walked into the kitchen. "Would you like some pancakes for breakfast?"

"That would be lovely." I said as I took a seat at the table.

"So, Gwen, how does it feel to be engaged?" Hermione asked me.

"Well, last night I definitely felt like I was on cloud nine and still this morning, I feel quite, quite happy." I said. "So I guess happy would be the answer to your question, Hermione. And speaking of fiances, does anyone know where mine went? I wake this morning to no George."

"He told me that he had to go back to the flat the three of you are living in and get something." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Even though we're leaving tomorrow morning?" I said to her.

"Yes. He said that he really needed to get it before they went home and that he wouldn't be gone long." Mrs. Weasley said, turning around and levitating a big plate of pancakes onto the kitchen table. Hermione, Ginny and I helped ourselves to the fresh-cooked pancakes and slathered them in butter and syrup. Mmmmmm, yummy yummy calories and sugar and probably some fat too.

"And just where have you been, mister?" I said to George when he walked in the kitchen door.

"I am so sorry I left without waking you madam, can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?" George says, overdoing the melodrama-ness just a bit.

"Tell me what you had to go back to the flat for and I'll consider forgiving you." I said as George took a seat next to me on the bench.

"Your engagement present. You were actually going to get this after we got back to the flat, but I wanted to give it to you now, since we're already engaged." George says, pulling a box out of his pocket. "Go ahead, open it." He encourages as he hands be the box.

I found where the top of the box lifted up, and I lifted it as far as it would go to reveal a very pretty necklace. On a gold chain there hung a circular pendant, it had been made to look like the planet Jupiter, which, in what felt like a very long time ago, I had told George was my favorite planet out of the nine. I think I had explained that by saying I thought it was the most majestic.

"Wow." I, Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley said.

"It's beautiful! Thank you, George." I said, getting up and giving him a hug and kiss, necklace still clutched in my hand.

"I'm glad you like it." George says. "How about I put it on you and we see how it looks on you?"

"Yeah." I agreed. I gave the necklace to George and turned around and pulled my hair out of the way so it would be easier to put the necklace on me.

And once he had done so, everyone said that it looked really nice on me. And again George got hugged and kiss. When Bill and Fleur came home for lunch, my necklace got more compliments and that put me on cloud nine for sure.

By the time we left the Burrow the morning after I got my present, I was feeling happier then I had in weeks. I guess Mrs. Weasley's owl had come at a good time. The three of us walked outside and I looked up at the sky to see Belle circling in the sky.

I whistled and she came down, landing on my outstretched arm. She'd made an appearance the first night we were there, but she seemed strangely weary of the house or the garden itself.

"Head back to the flat in Diagon Alley." I said to her. She hooted at me once and took off.

"It was a pleasure having you all here and it was lovely to meet you under better circumstances, Gwen." Mrs. Weasley said.

"It was a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs. Weasley." I said.

Fred, George and I walked beyond the boundaries of the property and Apparated back to London.


	60. Chapter 059

A few days after our return, when I had gained back a couple of pounds, I finally went and got fitted for the magenta robes that did not go with my hair at all. Why they had picked magenta, I had no idea. The only person who didn't clash with her work robes was Verity.

But we busted our butts to get the shop finished before the school year at Hogwarts started. And finish it we did. The shop was completely painted, decorated, layed out, products were on the shelves in the right places and we were ready to go. The first day the shop opened was insane. It was so crowded we could barely walk a few feet in the shop. Hell, I almost had to levitate myself over the crowd just to get out of the shop to get to the flat.

Then again, busy as it might have been (the crowd didn't start slacking and getting smaller until about five days after we'd opened for business), the business of the sho made Fred and George happy. It let them know that they had succeeded and were succeeding and they had done something really right and it didn't matter that they had only gotten a handful of O.W.L.S. between them. Running a business didn't really require a knowledge of astronomy, or the history of magic, or defense against the dark arts. It required a quick-thinking brain and maybe a little bit of business savvy.

"George, I'll be right back, I need to step out for a minute. Can you cover the counter for me?" I said to him when he fought his way through the crowd to the counter where I was.

"Yeah, no problem." He hopped over the counter and I left through the flip-up top that was there for that reason. I went above to our flat and grabbed my vault key and went to Gringotts, to get a bit of money out of my vault.

After that had happened and I had re-emerged into the warm day and sunshine (it was chilly below ground, where the vaults were). I walked up Diagon Alley (which looked decidely less cheerful these days) and headed to Quality Quidditch Supplies. I remembered the afternoon I'd spent there with George during Christmas break and how he'd spent an awful long time looking at this large glass globe and inside was a miniature Quidditch Pitch and there were six different teams to choose from, the Kenmare Kestrels, Caerphilly Catapults, Wimbourne Wasps, Tutshill Tornadoes, Falmouth Falcons, and Ballycastle Bats. And in this globe you could make them play games, and some recreations of famous games played.

"Can I help you?" The witch-clerk working the front of the store asked me.

"Uh, yes, I would like to purchase this globe here." I said, pointing to said globe.

"Well, that's the display globe, but come with me to the register and I can fetch one from the back for you. Would you like the same globe as displayed? Because we also have one with foreign Quidditch teams."

"This one." I said, putting my hand on the globe.

"Alright then." I followed the witch and waited at the counter while she went into the back of the store and got the globe I wanted. I payed for the globe and the witched wrapped it in brown paper and secured string around it so I could carry it with my fingers instead of in my arms. I got back to the flat and I went into our room. I put the box on the bed and I pulled out a quill and loaded it with ink and I wrote in one square: To: George, Love: Gwen. And then in the next square beneath that I wrote 'This is my gift to you.' And I drew a heart beneath that. I put the ink and quill on the table and then I went back to work.

"What took you so long?" George asked when I walked back into the shop.

"Sorry, I went to Gringotts and they've tightened up on the restrictions and how long it takes to get gold from your vault."

"Oh, alright then." I resumed my position behind the counter and George wandered through the shop, making sure no kids would try to nick anything while Fred was in the back, talking to some stern-faced wizards that had come in a few minutes after I had gotten back.

"What was that all about?" I asked Fred once the door had definitely shut behind the stern Wizards.

"I'll tell you at dinner." He said.

Verity came in around lunch and George and I went up to the flat to have lunch and since Verity and I traded shifts (I'd work the morning and she'd work the afternoon and vice versa), I stretched out on the couch in the living room while George went back to work and Fred came in and ate lunch and left while I took a nap.

"Wakey wakey, beautiful." George whispered.

"Mmf. What time is it?" I said in a sleepy voice, like the kind you get when you call somebody in the middle of the night and wake them up.

"Seven." George said. I opened my eyes to see him leaning over me.

"Wow, I slept so long." I said, sitting up on the couch.

"Yes, you did, but you've also been working as hard as anyone to get the shop open. And don't worry about dinner, Fred and I have that covered."

"Covered as in we need a new frying pan." Fred said, walking into the living room and holding up what used to be the one frying pan we owned.

"Dare I ask what happened to the poor thing?" I said as George pulled me off the couch.

"Ummmmm, I did." He says, looking sheepish.

"I think I'll help you guys, seeing as how you definitely don't have dinner covered as well as you thought." Fred and George took the ribbing in stride and the three of us managed to make dinner without destroying any more pots or pans.

And dessert was an ice cream bombe (an ice cream cake with three layers of ice cream, and yes, that is how you spell the 'bombe' in ice cream bombe). Mine was made with mango sherbet, raspberry sherbet and strawberry ice cream. Believe me when I say that met with success.

"Hey, George, have you seen my watch?" I was referring to the watch a witch gets when she turns seventeen. It's smaller then the one's wizard's get and it is silver as opposed to gold, but they are similar, minus those differences.

"Uh, no." He said.

"Can you check our room, please?"

"Sure."

This was working out better then I had hoped for. Fred got up offering to go check the living room, but I held my arm up to hold him back.

"Five, four, three, two, one." I slowly counted down, one finger going down each one counted until-

"Holy shit!" George yelled.


	61. Chapter 060

There was a thundering of feet and George came bursting into the kitchen and grabbed my waist and lifted me up in the air and spun me around and around.

He finally set me back on my feet, only to hug me tightly and say 'thank you' multiple times. My gift was definitely a hit.

"What did I miss?" Fred asks when George stops yelling.

"When I stepped out of the shop for a few minutes this morning, I went to Quality Quidditch Supplies because I remember the afternoon we spent here during winter break and George was looking at this globe in there and... it was my engagement present to him." I explained.

"You have to come see it! It is totally awesome!" I cleaned up the afermath of dinner while Fred and George went into our room and looked at the Quidditch globe.

I was washing the last of the dishes when George came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing the curve of my body created where my neck met my shoulder.

"I love you and thank you for the present, it is amazing, as are you."

"I'm glad my present is so greatly appreciated." I said, turning off the tap and drying my hands.

"Oh believe me it is." George said, turning me around.

"Okay, please, for the sake of my retinas, if you two are going to make out will you at least do it in the privacy of your bedroom. Because, you know, I would like to have to walk around my own home without having to worry about walking in on the middle of you two doing... 'stuff'." Fred said, walking in on us kissing in the kitchen.

"Fair enough." George said. He swiftly picked me up and carried me out of the kitchen. I barely had enough time to ask Fred to wipe up the water around the sink before we were in our bedroom.

One soundproofing incantation later...

And boy was I happy to have the morning off. Though I did wake up to make Fred and George coffee and tea. They can cook (the thing with the frying pan was an isolated incident), but for some reason it is beyond them to make coffee or tea. So I got up with the boys, made them tea or coffee and went back to bed to recuperate what sleep I did not get last night.

I got woken up for lunch and I ate, showered, dried my hair, and got into the magenta robes. That day flew by and soon the month followed in the same fashion. August was upon us before we knew it. And near the end, in the second half of the month, we had an influx of Hogwarts students. Some I knew, some I didn't.

Like, the Creevey brothers came in, and so did Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas and a bunch of other Gryffindors and Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. It was fun to see their reactions and hear from them how they thought mine and George's and Aideen's escape from Hogwarts and some of them had heard about what had happened at the Ministry and they expressed condolences to me and Fred. Well, not to his face. But they did tell me to tell him and all that.

George and I were doing amazingly well. We had been together for over a year and it was like our relationship was charmed, a fairy-tale romance in the vein of the kind of fairy-tale romances Muggles like telling stories about. We didn't really fight that much -- our biggest fights had been when he thought I had been cheating on him with Fred and when I wouldn't eat and he'd get mad -- and we just knew when to back off and leave the other alone and when we would want to cuddle. Like we were tailor-made for each other.

September dawned warm, but the nights bore the tell tale hint of autumn in the air. One Sunday, it was later in the morning and the three of us were sitting at the table in the kitchen enjoying a later breakfast/early-ish lunch.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny had come to the shop not too long ago and it had been fun to see them. Harry and Ron had been properly awed by the 'darker' line of products Fred and George had created -- the Shield charm hats and cloaks and such like that, the Peruvian Darkness Powder and the Decoy Detinators, the last having been my idea.

It was nice to see them. It felt like pretty much everywhere you turned these days everything was so dark and serious, like someone had died. I suppose in a way that was true, Emmeline Vance and Madam Bones had been murdered by Voldemort's supporters -- there were rumors Madam Bones had been murdered by Voldemort himself.

So I guess that it was up to someone to try and keep the mood from sinking to that which you might find in a mausoleum. And trust it to be Fred and George to do that with the U-No-Poo sign. Yeah, that did not make me happy. I wouldn't speak to Fred or George for the whole day when they brought out that sign. And funnily enough, they could not figure out why I was mad at them.

But again, I drag myself off another tangent. Sorry.

As I was saying, we were sitting in the kitchen, enjoying a leisurely brunch and we were talking casually about the wedding -- George and I wanted to get married in the wintertime or early spring, neither of us really wanted to wait.

"Well, I have an early wedding gift for you two." Fred says after George and I considered either asking my aunt or his parents if we could get married on their property.

"You do?" I said.

"I do. I figure that you guys should have done something on your anniversary, gone to dinner, maybe gone away for the weekend or something. But you worked through your anniversary. And I had made friends with a Greek Wizard up here to visit a cousin and he's got a place right on the ocean that he is not using because he'll be up here until the winter time. And I rented the place for you two for two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" Me and George said together

"Yep. And you two have no choice. I'm making you go."

"Well, what about the shop?"

"Me and Verity will be able to handle it."

"So, if you're unmoveable on this," Fred started nodding his head up and down, "when do we leave? Or when are we supposed to leave?" I asked.

"Tomorrow."


	62. Chapter 061

"Crazy boy is saying what?" I said.

"You leave tomorrow. Verity already knows and has agreed to pull double shifts, and don't worry, she will be compensated for it. And the cupboards are stocked and the food will still be okay, because this Greek wizard I met just came up here a few days ago."

"Thank you." George said, giving in to Fred.

"Your welcome." Fred says.

Sunday's were our leisure days, because the shop was closed. So we wiled away the early part of the afternoon by playing Exploding Snap -- I had to retreat into the kitchen for several minutes to regain my composure, because of that time on the train to Hogwarts where a pack of Exploding Snap had blown up on Aideen.

After dinner -- because, really, we didn't do anything that interesting over the course of the day -- George and I cleaned out my trunk and we used that to pack two weeks worth of clothes, with a few extra changes just in case.

The next morning, Fred woke up George and I, because Greece is in another time zone entirely from England. With one of us holding onto a handle on each side, George and I sidled down the stairs to our flat, to the street. Fred told us the spell we needed to know in order to unlock the door of this guy's house.

And with several 'have funs' and 'don't worry, I'll be fine' and things of this nature, George and I were sent to Greece for two weeks.

As it was, when we appeared in Greece it was still early morning, maybe around six-thirty or seven in the morning.

"Wow, this place is beautiful." I said, looking around. The house, as described, was just ahead of us and right on the beach. The beach was pristine white sand, by the way.

"Yeah, it is." George agreed. We picked up the trunk again and trudged across the sands to the house. It was like a large one-floor cottage, but still very pretty, with a garden in the back and everything.

"Do you think we're supposed to water the garden while we're here?" George asked when we'd drawn closer to the house.

"I don't know; but it would be common courtesy if we did." I said as we walked up the steps. George uttered the spell that unlocked the door and the door swung inward on its own as we did a funny crabwalk inside, carrying the trunk.

The inside of the cottage was larger then the outside made it appear -- no doubt this home had been magickally enlargened when obtained by its current owner -- and it was exceptionally light.

"Well, if you're gonna send two people off on a vacation they didn't know about until the day before -- this would the place to do it." George says.

"Yeah. And I am done carry this damn trunk. _Locomotor Trunk_." The trunk floated up to about my waist.

"Why didn't we think of this earlier?" George says as we walked to the back of the house.

"Because we were astounded by how beautiful Greece is and you got distracted by the garden and if we had to water it or not." I pointed out.

Our bedroom was located in the back of the cottage, the floorplan of the cottage was wide and open. We put the trunk at the foot of the bed and I crossed the room and opened the windows.

"You wanna go take a walk along the beach?" George asks.

"I was thinking it'd be more fun to go play on the beach and in the water."

"I will concede to you that point." George says.

So, ten minutes later, with a quick strip of the robes, bathing suits magicked up and lotion applied so we wouldn't turn into walking tomatoes, and we were out onto the beach. By the time we went inside for dinner, my skin was incredibly warm from being in the sun all day (I'm pretty sure you could have cooked eggs on my stomach), I had a very good foundation set up for a tan, I was tired -- playing in the warm Mediterranean Ocean is a hell of a lot of fun -- and I was definitely hungry.

For dinner, I made rigatoni with creamy mushroom sauce with parmesan cheese and mascarpone cheese (AN: delicious, trust me). George helped me cut up whatever needed cutting and he set the table while I cooked everything.

"This is delicous." George said while I put what was left over in a bowl and covered it and put it in the ice box.

"I'm glad you like it." I said, filling two glasses with some wine and carrying it over to the table before sitting down to enjoy my plate.

"Where did you learn to cook so well?" George asked as we ate the food.

"My aunt taught me." I said. "Then I found a box of recipes that my mum liked and I tried those out and... well, I guess I like cooking."

"You are an amazing cook. You're cooking--" George got some of the pasta and mushroom into his mouth and chewed. "-- is going to make me fat before I'm forty, because that's all I'm ever going to want to eat. This is as--" And another break for some more of the pasta dish. "-- good as my mother's cooking. You have got to make this for her so she can taste it herself." I stood up a little and leaned over the table and wiped away some sauce smeared on the corner of George's mouth with my thumb.

"If you really want me to, sure."

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach, to kickstart the digesting of the dinner. Since we still had our swim things on, we walked in the surf and the cool water felt very good when washing over my feet.

We must have wandered up and down that beach for over an hour. Just walking up and down, holding hands, listening to the surf crashing into the sand, and feeling the cool breeze blowing and walking in the water.

"Remind me to tell Fred how much I love him for this." George says as we made our way back to the house.

"Mm, I know what you mean. This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen." I said, putting my head on his chest and rubbing his back with my hand.

"Agreed." George says, wrapping an arm around me.

Suddenly an idea popped into my head. "George, we're all alone on this bit of beach, right?"

"Yes."

"And Fred said that the Greek Wizard he met told him that there weren't any Muggles for a good ten miles or more in any direction?"

"Uh huh." George said, wondering where I was going with this.

"Good." I ducked out from under his arm and whipped off my bikini bottoms, running for the ocean, my top coming off along the way before I ran into the surf, sending water flying everywhere before I got deep enough to dive in.

"What are you doing?" George called from the shore as I surfaced and pushed my sopping hair out of my face.


	63. Chapter 062

"It's called skinny-dipping. Come on in! The water feels fine!" I waved my arm at him, beckoning him into the water.

George shook his head, but nevertheless, he actually took off his bathing suit and came into the ocean. I treaded water and waited for him to catch up to where I was.

"The water's still warm." George remarks when he makes it out to me.

"See? Didn't I tell you that the water felt good?"

"You actually said 'fine' in regards to how the water feels." George says, swimming around me in a circle.

"Oh like it matters." I said.

~Two Weeks Later~

Alas, our time in Greece had to come to the end. But in a way I was kinda glad. Because for the last few days I had been feeling kind of off and unwell, my stomach suddenly felt very uneasy. And I had no idea why this might be, maybe I ate something that had gone off? I dunno. I just hoped after my body readjusted to the time difference and I'd gotten a few cups of tea down me, I'd calm down. I mean, my body would calm down.

"Soooooo, how was Greece?" Fred said when we walked into the flat, taking in our much more tan appearance.

"Greece was good." George said as I made a beeline for a kitchen, grabbing the kettle and filling it up and putting it on the cook top.

"What's wrong with you?" Fred asks as he and George followed me into the kitchen.

"Greece didn't agree with Gwen as much." George says.

"Only for about the last three days of the trip. Otherwise, I loved it. Tell your friend that he has an amazing house in an absolutely beautiful location." I said, getting a cup out of the cupboard and a teabag from the tin we kept the teabags in.

"I will and were you sick?" Fred asks, his brows coming together in an endearing way.

"I threw up once. But I've just been having this very gnarly stomachache, like my period minus the bloating, headaches, and the other thing." I spared actually mentioning the words 'blood' or 'menstruation' because Fred and George looked they were ready to shove their fingers into their ears and go 'la la la la' over and over to block out hearing the words they wouldn't like.

"We both think that Gwen ate something that had gone off, combine that with we're in a different time zone from the one she's used to and it made the problems seem and feel magnified."

"And that makes me hope that a cup of tea or two... or thirty will help my stomach out."

And that was right when my stomach made its complaints with my body known. I felt the bile rising in my throat and I pushed Fred and George roughly aside and ran like hell for a bathroom, it didn't matter to me whose it was. Both toilet seats went up and I'm sure you can imagine the rest.

George came in and rubbed my back while I had a conversation with the toilet bowl. Metaphorically speaking of course.

"What does Gwen like in her tea?" Fred calls from the other end of the flat.

"Add a bit of milk." George yelled. "Do you want to walk to the kitchen or have your tea brought to you?"

"I'll walk." I said, slowly getting myself standing.

"And we'll be right there." George yells.

I rinsed my mouth out and with George supporting me and being very gentle with me, we walked to the kitchen. I sat down and Fred put a cup of tea and saucer in front of me, saying he hoped he had put enough milk in for me.

I took a sip and told him it was fine. George sat next to me, gently running his hand up and down my back while Fred related what had happened over the past two weeks we'd been gone. More people had disappeared, more people had turned up dead, there had been a sighting of Inferi near the border of France and Luxembourg, and that was the depressing stuff. On the brighter side of these dark days, the shop had been doing well, Angelina had been signed to the Kenmare Kestrels, and Katie had been signed to the Holyhead Harpies.

I threw up once more over the course of the day, which made George -- by the end of the week, because I was still sporadically throwing up -- go to his mom to see if she had any recipes or anything that might help with the puking situation. He came back with raspberry leaves and ginger and a recipe on how to make them into a tea that I had to drink every time I felt nauseated, which was often.

Both Fred and George forced me to take the whole week off in light of my constant throwing up and I drank that raspberry and ginger tea religiously. And by Saturday a new symptom had shown up, my upper chest was sore and tender to the touch.

"Maybe you should go to St. Mungo's." George suggested to me as I grazed my boobs on accident reaching for my tea and winced.

"Maybe I should." I agreed. After lunch, George and I changed into Muggle attire and we headed out and went to St. Mungo's. Going into Muggle London after spending most of my time strictly in the Wizarding world was weird. I didn't really know the way (never having needed to go there before), so George led the way to St. Mungo's and trust me, I found it surprising when he stopped in front of a dummy wearing an ugly green nylon dress, that had to be a good ten to fifteen years out of date.

"We're here for help." George said to the dummy.

The dummy nodded her head and George and I walked through the glass and into a large and loud and crowded waiting room. After perusing the floor guide, George and I really had no idea where we should go, so we went to stand in the line for the Welcome Witch.

"How can I help you?" The Welcome Witch asked, sounding far less then welcoming and willing to help.

"My fiance has been throwing up for over a week and her upper chest area is sore and tender to the touch, according to her." George says.

"Have you been bitten by anything of magickal origin?" The witch asked me.

"No. But we just got back from a two-week holiday in Greece and I started feeling not so well about three days before we came home."

"Head up to the third floor."

George and I headed through the double doors she had pointed out and we started climbing up the rickety staircase that truly looked as if it were going to give way any moment.

"How can I help you two?" A kindly looking Healer asks when we walk through another set of double doors.

"I can't stop puking and we don't know why."

"Alright, well, follow me and we'll see what we can do about that. Tell me about your symptoms."

"Well, my fiance and I went to Greece for two weeks recently and a few days before we came home, I felt unwell."

"Unwell how?"

"I had a pretty bad stomach ache, like a woman's monthly thing minus everything but the cramps. And I threw up once or twice while we were in Greece and I've been doing it since we returned, a little over a week. And by today, a second symptom had shown up: my upper chest area is very tender and sore to the touch."

"Nausea and vomiting and your upper chest area, you say? Tell me, are your breasts the sorest part of your upper chest?"

"Yes." I said.

"My dear, you don't have a magickal disease of any kind. Your symptoms are linked to a very much more earth-bound and physical thing. You are pregnant."

"I'M WHAT?!" I practically yelled.

As George all but yelled, "SHE IS?"

"Yes. I'd say that you are pregnant. Nausea, vomiting, these are things that Muggle's call 'morning sickness' though they can occur at any time of the day or night, but this should last only through the first three months of pregnancy, though some women have morning sickness all through right up until the birth, even."

"But -- But -- But -- You're serious?" I squeaked.

"Yes. I'd say short of an exam that you are pregnant."

"What do the breasts being sore have to do with it?"

"The breasts expand slowly over the nine months so that they can make room for the breast milk to feed the newborn child until they can be switched to more solid foods."

"Your mother is going to _freak out_ when she finds out I'm pregnant." I suddenly said.

"No. She won't." George said.

"There isn't some charm or spell or something you know of where we can definitely peg down that I am going to be having a baby?" I asked the Healer. Hey, you never know, it's possible. Witches and Wizards are to new magical spells, curses, jinxes, charms, and items the way Muggles are with new technology: something new is born every five seconds it seems like.

"Actually, I am aware of one, but I've never performed it before..."

"And you don't know the consequences of what could happen if you botch it." George said, picking up where the Healer had trailed off.

"Yes."

I looked up at George. "It's ultimately your choice, Gwen," He said, touching my elbow, his voice, tone and touch very gentle. "I don't have to carry the baby for nine months, you do."

I looked at the Healer. "I want to make sure that I am pregnant and not just sick with some weird sickness I picked up on holiday."

"Alright." The Healer pulled his wand out from behind his ear and pointed it at my stomach. Suddenly I got very, very, VERY nervous. The Healer murmured something I couldn't quite hear; I presumed it to be the spell. And if it wasn't... Well, let's just say Azkaban was going to have another inmate.

My stomach glowed green for a few seconds and then the glow went away.

"What did that mean?" George and I asked almost at the same time.

"Congratulations. You are indeed pregnant, my dear."

Suddenly someone starts yelling for a Healer. The Healer George and I had been talking to hastily excuses himself and leaves us in the hall.

"I guess that... we'd better go break the news to your parents then." I said, in an odd sort of voice. I think by this point I was in some state of shock from being told I was pregnant.

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea." George says, in the same sort of voice as mine.


	64. Chapter 063

George and I left St. Mungo's and soon as it was safe (soon as we were back in Diagon Alley), we Apparated to the Burrow.

"Well, this is an unexpected surprise!" Mrs. Weasley said after we were let into the house and after George stuck his head in through an open window in the kitchen and scared the shitake out of his mother, "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to see you mum, isn't that a reason?" George said to his mother, doing his best angel face. Only a knuckle shoved into my mouth kept me from laughing.

"With you, my darling son, one never quite knows." Mrs. Weasley says, drying her hands on a dish towel.

"Well, mum, you know me. I love to surprise people."

"Gwen, are you alright, dear?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I said, turning my head toward her from where I'd been looking out the window.

Mrs. Weasley raised an eyebrow at me. "Gwen, I have had seven children, I know when something is bothering one of them."

"There's nothing bothering me so much as, there's something I'm trying to wrap my head around." I tried to explain.

Mrs. Weasley's face was the equivalent of a cross between 'huh?' and 'what on earth are you babbling about?'

"Gwen, I think you've confused my mother about as well as I've ever managed to do." George says, grinning.

"Yes, yes she has." Mrs. Weasley agrees.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself for any potential reaction we might get. I reached over to George under the table and took his hand. He squeezed it gently once.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm..." Another big breath. Telling your future mother-in-law that you're pregnant -- and it's before you've gotten married -- is harder then it sounds. "I'm pregnant."

And that was when Mrs. Weasley let out a shrill scream of joy and jumped up and hugged me and George, already crying.

"Oh this is such wonderful news!" She managed to say through her tears after she'd relinquished George and I from a hug that by rights should have broken something on us both. "I have to go tell Arthur, straight away! I'll be back!" Mrs. Weasley lit a fire in the fireplace in the kitchen and grabbed a flower pot off the window sill and pulled (what I presumed to be Floo Powder) a handful of powder out and tossed it into the fire and disappeared with a clear yell of "Ministry of Magic!"

I looked at George and he looked at me, a sort of bemused expression on his face. "Should we wait for her to come back?"

"Yeah, might as well. Do you want something to eat?" George asked, getting up from the table.

"A sandwich sounds nice right now." I admitted.

"A sanni it is." George said. I sat at the table and watched him move about the kitchen as he made me a sandwich.

"You weren't expecting that sort of a reaction out of my mother were you?" George asked a few minutes later as he used his wand to cut my sandwich on the diagonal -- the way I liked it.

"Not really, no." I told him truthfully.

"I'm curious, but what kind of reaction were you expecting from her?"

"I don't really know." I said as I picked up one-half of the sandwich and bit off a corner. "I expected quite a few different ones. I didn't know if she'd be mad, you know, you getting me in the oven _before_ we got married, or if she'd be disbelieving; because to my knowledge, this baby is her first grandchild," I lightly placed my hand upon my stomach, it was an unconcious action, "and fairly low down on the list was the reaction we did get."

"With mum you are never quite sure of what you're going to be getting when a reaction is required of her." George agrees with me.

"Then I guess it's a good thing we decided on getting married over the winter? What with the baby due roughly sometime during June."

"Yeah, that is true. Didn't think about it before. OH, _CRAP_." George said suddenly.

"What? What is it?" I asked, alarmed, with my wand already out.

"I just thought of something... shit. I hope my mum gets back soon so I can ask her."

"Ask her what?"

"If I have to invite Auntie Muriel to the wedding." George asked, grimacing. "And if we do, we are not letting her know you're already pregnant. Because she'll say something about it and I'll probably be arrested for strangling the old high and mighty goat."

"I'm not going to like her." It wasn't a question so much as a statement.

"Oh, definitely not."

The fire in the fireplace flared green suddenly and Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the fire, shaking ash off her robes.

"Your father sends his congratulations and he's as happy as I am about this news." Mrs. Weasley was beaming and glowing with happiness at this point.

"Uh, mum, a thought has just occured to me --"

"Shocking." I muttered under my breath. George kicked me in the ankle.

"Hey! No kicking the pregnant lady in the ankle!" I said, kicking him in the knee.

"How about no kicking any one?" Mrs. Weasley suggested, breaking up the play fight. "George, you had a question?"

"Uh, yeaaaaaah. Do we have to invite Auntie Muriel to the wedding?"

"Ooooh, I'm not sure. It is during the winter and she'll probably complain and moan about the fact that you're having it when the weather will be cold and about her arthritis and anything else she feels like complaining about. But, if you do send her an invitation, she may decide not to come BECAUSE it is the winter. And truthfully, it's no great loss."

I now knew where her twin sons got their sneaky streak.


	65. Chapter 064

By dinner time that night, the entire imediate Weasley family knew. Except, I think for Ron and Ginny. OK, clarification: The immediate Weasley family that was out of school already knew that I was pregnant by dinner time.

Fred showed up at the Burrow and he congratulated me and George when we told him and he said that he was happy for us, but I noticed he disappeared for a long time just to 'go to the bathroom.' I had a fair idea of whom he was thinking about, the one person who I wished very hard could be here to share in the joy I was feeling.

Fleur practically had a fit when she was told, she was so happy. In her French accented English -- which was getting much better -- she told me that I absolutely had to tell her what it was like, since she and Bill wanted to start a family after they got married. And various members of the mysterious Order dropped by the Burrow pretty regularly over the evening and then gave George and I congratulatory wishes when a still beaming Mrs. Weasley informed them.

"When do you want the wedding to be?" Mrs. Weasley asked us later in the evening.

"Uhhhhhh." I said, trailing off. I had absolutely no idea when I wanted the wedding to be.

"I got nothing too." George admitted.

"I do want Ron and Ginny and Harry and Hermione there for the ceremony though." I said.

"Then you have a three week window during December and early January in which to get married." Bill pointed out.

"That's true." I mused.

"Where are you going to be holding this wedding?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Oh." George and I said at the same time. We seriously had put zero thought into this wedding.

"How many people are we going to have to invite?" George asked.

~Several Weeks Later~

From the night we'd shared the fact that I was pregnant, things had gotten kinda nuts. What with planning a wedding, being pregnant and dealing with morning sickness and working, it started to seem like there were not enough hours in the day to do it all.

George and I had managed to decide on and do a few things:

One: We'd sent out all the invitations. There are A LOT of Weasley cousins, for the record. Much to George's delight, this Auntie Muriel woman had declined to attend the wedding. And most of our friends from school would be able to attend.

Two: We were getting married on December 21, the Winter Solstice.

Three: Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had rather graciously let us get married in their garden.

Four: Ginny and Hermione were going to be my bridesmaids (I wanted it kept to a small number and Fleur suggested two, because that was what she wanted at her wedding and she thought two bridesmaids was ideal). And they were going to be wearing pale blue dresses, because I figured pale blue would look rather nice on both young women and not clash with Ginny's hair in the process.

Five: Fred was George's best man (as if there had ever been any doubt about who it would be).

Six: We'd gotten a magically heated marquee rented for the wedding. So no one would be freezing off any part of their body they might need or liked.

Seven: And I had found a gold colored dress (not like white really applied here anymore) that would most likely have to be changed more then once because of my expanding stomach.

All in all, that's a pretty impressive list for a couple of people who up until a few weeks ago had zilch. And Mrs. Weasley had told us not to worry about the food and drinks, that that would be her job. I still had to decide who I wanted to walk me down the aisle, but we were in good shape for a wedding that wasn't so far off.

Time passes funny when you're caught up in something like planning a wedding. After planning kicked into high gear, time started passing by in dollops and large chunks. Until, before I knew it, it was the day before the wedding. Mrs. Weasley had forced me and George to split up for the night -- an apparent tradition I had had no prior knowledge about.

I stayed at the Burrow, on the second floor in Percy's old room so I could be close to a toilet if necessary. Which, no doubt, I would need the toilet during the night, and it would be because of my morning sickness, which was still going on.

For some reason, I was not nervous at all about getting married so young. Hell, I was just eighteen and George was still seventeen. I couldn't help but think of my mom. She'd been a bit older then me when she'd gotten married, and look what had happened to her. Dead before thirty. I shuddered and blocked that whole frightening time out of my head. George was not like that and he would never ever do that to me. I loved George and he loved me and that was enough for us.

Ginny and Hermione came into my temporary room after we were supposed to be in bed sleeping. We stayed up later then we should have, talking. Reminiscing some, two of us would playfully rib on another girl, they asked about the baby and had it kicked yet -- I told them no it hadn't yet kicked the wall of my womb. But, I almost corrected them and said 'babies' because I had the strangest feeling that I was carrying more then one child inside of me. I didn't want to tell anyone in case I was wrong.

But the day of the wedding dawned bright and cold, but much warmer then it had been in the days preceding up to the wedding. The garden and yard outside the Weasley's kitchen door had been transformed to look like a winter wonderland. I watched the preparations out the window when I wasn't getting ready. I watched the yard get transformed and the marquee set up and, by the time I was fully ready, dressed, make up done, hair done, the whole shebang, I watched some of the guests arrived.

And then it was time. Ginny, Hermione and I left Percy's old room and walked down the stairs to be greeted by Mr. Weasley (who would be walking me down the aisle) looking very sharp in a nice set of dress robes, and my aunt Joan.

"Aunt Joan? I thought you were supposed to be inside the marquee."

"I am. But, I just wanted to give you this first." She handed me a small box wrapped in silvery paper. I wripped off the paper and took off the lid. A strangled gasp escaped my lips and I felt the tears well up in my eyes, making it difficult to see.

"I found this in your mother's belongings. I think she would have wanted you to have it for an occasion as special as this." It was a silver wrist cuff, surely Goblin-crafted. There was a delicate swirling pattern that had been hammered into the surface of the cuff, centered around a ruby in the middle.

I hastily couldn't remember as the first tears fell if I was wearing waterproof mascara or not and I quickly wiped my hand under my eyes, my fingers mercifully coming away black-free.

"Thank you." I whispered, not trusting my voice to not crack if I spoke any louder. I hugged Aunt Joan tight and I said thank you again as she hugged me back. I put the cuff on as Aunt Joan hurried out the door to her seat inside the marquee.

"Are you ready?" Mr. Weasley asked, offering me his arm.

"Yes." I said, smiling. I slipped my arm into his and with Ginny and Hermione walking ahead of us, we left the house, walking the purple carpet that had been laid from the back door to the dais inside the marquee where I would shortly be getting married.


	66. Chapter 065

As I walked the purple carpet, which my frazzled mind noticed looked really nice with my dress. I notice weird things when I'm under stress. And planning a wedding while pregnant, counts as a lot of stress.

There were blue balloons, tied above where the Wizard who would be officiating the ceremony, were playing music -- I think. I recognized the piece as my favorite big band song, something my mom had played to send me to sleep when I was little. And of course that just made me cry in combination with seeing George standing at the end of the aisle.

I got a handful of my skirt, my free hand getting taken by George's hand and I was helped the last few steps of my walk, up the dais. I couldn't resist one look down at my little baby bump, it didn't look like much in the dress, but you could still kinda see it. And once I had released the dress, George took my other hand.

And to tell you the truth, I don't really remember what the officiating Wizard said. I focused on George, mostly. I just looked him in the eyes and he looked me in the eyes and we just kind of ignored everyone else.

Though I did pay attention when the wizard said, "Do you, Gwendolyn Rose take George William to be your husband through all the trials that may present themselves to you in the coming years?"

"I do." I said, nodding. I tried not to wince as I felt a twinge of pain in my stomach. My baby just kicked me in the middle of my wedding, which so far had gone off without a hitch -- oh the irony in that.

"And do you, George William, take Gwendolyn Rose to be your wife through all the trials that may present themselves to you in the coming years?"

"I do." George said, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped nervously.

"In front of all the assembled here today we join together in matrimony two souls that are now one." The wizard held his wand aloft over George and mine's entwined hands and a blue ribbon with a gold sheen to it when you moved it a certain way came out of the wand and wrapped itself around our hands.

"Let this ribbon represent how the two of you are now joined together. And now I present to you Mr. and Mrs. George Weasley!"

George and I pressed our lips together, it was a chaste kiss, nothing scandalous so that people wouldn't go into a tizzy. Then we turned to the crowd and raised my right hand and his left with the ribbon trailing down. Everybody clapped and then after the clapping had died down, they stood up, someone levitated all the chairs and then the space became transformed into where we would be dining. Waiter's in white robes came in as everybody got seated. George and I, Fred, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley all sat at the head table stretched lengthwise inside the marquee where the dais had been moments ago.

For the next few hours we wined and dined and had fun. Well, I didn't 'wine' because alcohol is a no no when you are with child. But the food was good, even to my somewhat tender stomach. I'd winced two more times during the evening, George had noticed and asked me what was wrong, fully ready to run out of their with me and get me to St. Mungo's, if it was necesary.

I'd told him I was fine and the first time I took his hand and put it to my bump and I knew he could feel the baby moving inside. Partly because I could feel the baby moving and partly because I heard the soft exhalation of breath in a gasp coming from George.

Part of the marquee had been cleared for a dance floor and, of course, George and I had to do the first dance. I was more shy about it then he was, so George was the one leading me out onto the dance floor. Best part of it was that neither of us really knew how to dance, so we just ended up with his arms wrapped around my waist and my arms wrapped around his neck and we just slowly revolved on the spot -- the standard slow dance for people who don't know how to dance.

I put my head on George's chest and closed my eyes. "Do you want to go take a nap?" George teased, lowering his head and whispering in my ear.

"No." I murmured. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "I'm just basking in the happy glow of being married to you."

"I love you." George whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to my temple.

"I love you, too." I whispered back.

"Mind if I cut in?" Meet Fred Weasley. Brother-in-law and moment destroyer.

"Sure." George said, stepping back with a gracious smile. Fred placed a cautious hand on my waist and he held my hand up and we started actually dancing, because, apparently, Fred knew something of how to dance.

"So," Fred said as other couples came onto the dance floor, "how is my niece or nephew doing?"

"Slightly aggravating me." I admitted.

"Why?"

"Well, the baby moved during the ceremony -- trust me, it was hard not to visibly wince because it hurt -- and the baby has moved two more times since then."

"Well, wouldya look at that -- the baby takes after its uncle."

"Shut up, Fred." I laughed.

The wedding reception lasted into the night. Most people bowed out a bit after sunset, when it truly started to get cold outside. Everyone who stayed inside the marquee was fine, but everyone else really left around nine or ten or so. I hurried inside with George -- it had gotten REAL cold once the sun had gone down.

"Welcome to the family, Gwen." Charlie said, giving me a hug. I'd just met Charlie last night and I thought that he seemed like a really sweet guy. Who just happened to have a large burn on his forearm because a Norwegian Ridgeback decided Charlie was annoying him.

George and Fred divvied up the wedding gifts into two bags and they left to go back to the flat. I followed them a short time later, after several more rounds of 'congratulations' and Mrs. Weasley made me promise we'd come back in a few days for Christmas dinner.

"Where'd Fred go?" I asked after I'd walked into the flat.

"He said he was going to spend the next two night at Lee's place so he could give us some privacy as a married couple." George said. "So, how does it feel to be married to me?"

I smiled and ran my hands up George's arms, coming to rest lightly on his shoulders. "I don't know. I'm still on cloud nine. Ask me when I come down in a few days."

"Alright, I will ask." There was no mistaking the happy smile on George's face now.

"I'm counting on it. By the way, your mum made me promise the three of us will go to the Burrow for Christmas dinner."

"Of course."

"So you'll have to wait until next year to get a Christmas dinner cooked by me."

"I think I can wait."

I smiled and then I felt a wave of light-headedness wash over me and I know I wavered on my feet because George was quickly asking if I was okay and gripping my elbows.

"I'm okay, I just think... I just think I need to sit down and have a cup of that ginger and raspberry tea."

"Okay, okay." George said. He walked me into the kitchen and sat me down at the table before he started making me tea.


	67. Chapter 066

The experience of drinking the tea that was primarily to help with my nausea (but I had a feeling I would sporadically drink it for the rest of my life because when I got lightheaded, drinking the tea helped there too), was almost surreal in a way. We were in our kitchen in our flat. The same flat we had been living in for about eight months now. The surroundings were normal, by far, George and I were not. I still had my wedding dress on and he still had his dress robes on. Though he did look rather attractive in them, it still seemed kinda surreal that we were married now and in a little less then five months time I'd be screaming my head off and would be ready to curse somebody, anyone, into oblivion.

"How are you feeling?" George asked me after I'd drank my second cup and started my third.

"Better." I said, pausing to take a sip. "Not so dizzy now."

"How's the baby doing?"

"The baby might be asleep right now, because I don't feel anything."

" 'don't feel anything'?" George said, sounding rather alarmed.

"Calm down," I said, placing my hand, warm from the cup, over his. "I might not be able to feel the baby moving right now, but I know that the baby is still alive inside me."

That seemed to calm George. He stopped breathing through his nose like a winded bull at the very least. And the vein in his left temple that stood out when he was extremely panicked or under a large amount of stress, reduced itself and went back to normal.

I drained my cup, careful not to drink down the dregs of the tea, and placed it on the table. Then I yawned. Loudly. George smiled and stood up, coming around the table to me and lifting me up into his arms, carrying me down the hall to our bedroom. I must have mumbled some protest about leaving my tea cup on the table because George was suddenly saying, "Not putting the tea cup in the sink after you've drank your tea for one night will not kill you or cause any earth-shattering disaster."

He set me on my feet and helped me get out of my wedding dress. I would have just left it on the bed while I went to the bathroom to wash my make up off and brush the curls Ginny and Mrs. Weasley had had far too much fun putting in my hair that morning, but before I left the room, George was fishing a hanger out of the closet to hang the dress on.

I came back in a few minutes later to get into the t-shirt and sweatpants George had layed out for me. He knew I was tired and didn't want to waist any time in getting into bed. Which is precisely where I was a minute later.

"Good night, wife of mine." George said, pressing a slow kiss, but one I could feel the passion in, to my lips. And I definitely kissed him back.

" 'Night, husband of mine." I replied, mimicking him almost word for word. Another languid, but passionate kiss passed between us.

Then George drew back the covers on the bed and pulled my t-shirt up until my baby bump became exposed. He kissed my baby bump and spoke against my skin, to the growing baby. "I love you baby and your mom too. Have a good rest in there." George then ever so gently replaced my t-shirt and the covers and he rolled onto his side, toward me. We both knew when we were asleep that George would end up positioning his body so it hugged mine.

I had my head bent forward a bit, so that my forehead almost touched George's chest and I felt him rest his head on mine, and his hand came up to caress my side a bit. That was the last thing I remember before we were both claimed by sleep.

~Four Days Later~

Christmas Day was upon us. For some reason, George and I had waited until then to open our wedding presents in addition to the presents we got for Christmas. Fred almost wigged out when he saw the size of the pile on our bed. But then we told him they were our wedding presents too, he calmed down quick.

In addition to the Christmas presents I had received from Mrs. Weasley (which was another beautiful sweater and a box of almond and blueberry cookies), Angelina and Alicia and Katie had gotten me several books about Beater's evidently trying to lure me back into playing Quidditch, I had gotten a beautiful silver band ring from George with his name engraved on the inside (that went on my ring finger very fast, and the silver ring I got him that had my name engraved on the inside went on his ring finger quickly), Fred had gotten me a bunch of baby clothes and some other stuff like pacifiers and bottles and bibs, there were the wedding gifts. I was busy wripping the wrapping paper off of a present from Luna Lovegood and her dad when I heard Fred call my name.

Before I could answer, he came into mine and George's room carrying a box. "Did you get one of these?" He asked, holding the box out. I didn't recognize the handwriting on it.

"I don't know..." I said, already digging through the pile in search of a similar box. George found it half under the bed; I'm going to guess it had fallen off without anyone noticing.

Simultaneously Fred and I tore into the wrapping paper to reveal a plain white box with a piece of parchment folded over and secured to the lid of mine with a bit of Spellotape.

I read my note first. " _My Mistress Aideen was an uncommonly kind witch in a family full of--_ It breaks off there. _She spoke of you often when she was at the family home and I know how dear friends the two of you were. I saved this from the purge of her belongings and I know Mistress Aideen would have wanted you to have this._ " My voice was barely a squeak by the time I was finished reading that darn note.

"Who sent it?" George asked.

"It doesn't say, it just has an 'L' at the bot- tom. It's Loddy, their house elf! Only house elves would refer to someone as 'master' or 'mistress,' because they have to, being part of their servitude and everything." I pulled the lid off the box and pulled out a red cloth-bound book. After I opened to the first page, I felt my hand fly to my mouth. It was a picture of me and Aideen on the shores of the lake, the second day we had met. The second and third pages were from our first year too. The whole book was a photo album of me and Aideen, through our years at Hogwarts.

"The same house elf adressed this to me as what wrote your letter." Fred said.

He pulled the lid off and inside was a leather-bound notebook. Fred dropped the box and balanced the book on his arm and flipped through a few pages.

"She could draw. I... I never had any idea she could draw this well." He said in a voice that sounded shocked and sad and like he missed her terribly.

"Who do you think drew the banners for my first and only Quidditch game?" I asked him in a jovial tone, in an attempt to cheer Fred up.

"I guess house elves aren't all bad." Fred acknowledged.

"No. Loddy is a really good house elf. He's just enslaved to the worst kind of people."

Fred slowly wandered out of the room and back into his, still looking at the book. George scooched closer to me on the bed and pressed a kiss to my shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I will be." I said.

After the drama of the morning, it seemed to me that the day was now set up to be kind of dull. Yes, we would be with loved ones and we probably would have fun, but can you really compare that to receiving your best friend's photo album from her house elf, it just kinda blows everything else outta the water. At least for me that it is what it felt like.

Oh, how very wrong I was...


End file.
